Sipple v US

6-8-2010 Ohio:

Sipple v US
726 F.Supp.2d 813 (2010)

This matter is before the Court on Petitioner Lawrence Sipple's motion to vacate, set aside, or correct sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (Doc. No. 22). For the reasons that follow, Petitioner's motion is well-taken and is GRANTED.

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Waucaush also establishes that Petitioner's guilty plea in this case was not knowing and intelligent and that, therefore, his conviction and sentence should be vacated. In Waucaush, the Court determined that the petitioner's guilty plea was not intelligently given because he pled guilty to a set of facts which did not constitute a crime. Id. at 260. The Court, therefore, concluded that Waucaush's plea was not intelligent and vacated his conviction. Id. at 263.

Similarly, in this case, new case law from the Sixth Circuit changed the legal significance of the facts to which Petitioner pled guilty, namely, that they no longer constituted a violation of SORNA. Therefore, Petitioner's guilty plea to the indictment was not intelligent and must be vacated. See id.

Accordingly, for the reasons stated, Petitioner's motion to vacate, set aside or correct sentence is well-taken and is GRANTED. Petitioner's conviction and sentence on Count 1 of the indictment are VACATED. Additionally, because the indictment is based on conduct occurring before the effective date of the SMART regulations, Petitioner's motion to dismiss the indictment is well-taken and is GRANTED. See Utesch, 596 F.3d at 312-13; Cain, 583 F.3d at 424.
IT IS SO ORDERED.