United States v. Lawrence Taylor

EDITH BROWN CLEMENT, Circuit Judge:

We are tasked with deciding whether Lawrence James Taylor’s claim that his sentence enhancement is no longer valid under the Armed Career Criminal Act (“ACCA”) is constitutionally or statutorily based in light of the district court’s conclusion that the now constitutionally defunct residual clause “played no role” at his sentencing. We hold that Taylor’s claim is constitutionally based and warrants relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2255.

Facts and Proceedings

In 2006, Lawrence James Taylor pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon—which usually…