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202067P.pdf   07/05/2022  Christopher Jones  v.  United States
   U.S. Court of Appeals Case No:  20-2067
   U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas - Central   
[PUBLISHED] [Colloton, Author, with Loken and Benton, Circuit Judges] Prisoner case - Habeas. In 2005 Jones pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. After his conviction was final, he moved for relief under Section 2255, arguing his firearm conviction should be vacated in light of U.S. v. Davis, 139 S. Ct. 2319. The district court denied the motion and Jones appeals. Given the intervening decision in Davis, Jones has overcome the procedural default of his challenge to the firearm conviction and is entitled to relief; with respect to procedural default, Jones has established cause for failing to raise the claim on direct review because the state of the law at the time of his appeal did not offer a reasonable basis upon which to challenge the guilty plea; since neither conspiracy to commit a Hobbs Act robbery nor possession of a firearm by a felon qualify as crimes of violence, Davis does not have a predicate offense to support the charge of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and it would be a miscarriage of justice to leave in place his 84-month consecutive sentence on that count; Davis applies retroactively to cases on collateral review; the conviction for brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence is vacated and the matter remanded for further proceedings.