Speight v. Nash , 132 F. App'x 423 ( 2005 )

Opinions of the United
2005 Decisions States Court of Appeals
for the Third Circuit
5-31-2005
Speight v. Nash
Precedential or Non-Precedential: Non-Precedential
Docket No. 05-2011
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"Speight v. Nash" (2005). 2005 Decisions. Paper 1108.
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HPS–92 (April, 2005) NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
_______________
No. 05-2011
________________
CEARFUL SPEIGHT, JR.,
Appellant
v.
WARDEN JOHN NASH
____________________________________
On Appeal From the United States District Court
For the District of New Jersey
(D.C. Civ. No. 05-cv-00319)
District Judge: Honorable Freda L. Wolfson
_______________________________________
Submitted For Possible Summary Action Under Third Circuit LAR 27.4 and I.O.P. 10.6
April 29, 2005
Before: SCIRICA, Chief Judge, WEIS and GARTH, Circuit Judges.
(Filed: May 31, 2005)
_______________________
OPINION
_______________________
PER CURIAM.
Cearful Speight filed a petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241 to challenge
his conviction and sentence for conspiracy to distribute cocaine and crack in violation of
28 U.S.C. §§ 841 & 846. He claimed that his indictment was void because he was not
therein charged with an independent substantive offense; that the trial court, in effect,
amended the indictment to include an aggravating offense at the sentencing phase; and
that the trial court enhanced his sentence using facts not found by the jury or admitted by
Speight. The District Court, determining that 28 U.S.C. § 2255 was not an inadequate or
ineffective means by which Speight could bring his claims, dismissed Speight’s petition.
Speight filed a motion for reconsideration, which was denied. Speight appeals. Because
this appeal presents no substantial question, we will summarily affirm.
Speight cannot bring his petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241, because a motion
to challenge his conviction and sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 is not “inadequate
or ineffective.” 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2005). Although Speight’s claims appear at first blush
to be based on Jones v. United States, 526 U.S. 227, 243 n.6 (1999), Apprendi v. New
Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 490 (2000), and Apprendi’s progeny, Speight purports to ground his
arguments in In re Winship, 397 U.S. 358 (1970). No matter which of these cases he
relies on, 28 U.S.C. § 2255 is not an inadequate or ineffective way to bring his claims.
See Okereke v. United States, 307 F.3d 117, 120-21 (3d Cir. 2002); United States ex rel.
Leguillou v. Davis, 212 F. 2d 681, 684 (3d Cir. 1954). Therefore, the District Court
properly dismissed Speight’s petition for lack of jurisdiction and declined to grant his
motion for reconsideration.1
For the reasons stated above, the District Court’s orders will be summarily
affirmed.
1
As the District Court noted in response to Speight’s argument that the
Suspension Clause was violated by the dismissal of his petition for lack of jurisdiction,
“the substitution of a collateral remedy which is neither inadequate nor ineffective to test
the legality of a person’s detention does not constitute a suspension of the writ of habeas
corpus.” Swain v. Pressley, 430 U.S. 372, 381 (1977).