Ramon Aponte v. United States

The “question left open after” this Court’s ruling in United States v. Taylor, 596 U.S. 845 (2022), is whether “completed Hobbs Act robbery qualifies as a crime of violence under [18 U.S.C.] § 924(c)(3)(A).” United States v. Stoney, 62 F.4th 108, 113 (3d Cir. 2023). Petitioner here briefed two reasons why the answer is no. Neither the District Court nor Court of Appeals rejected either reason. As it had to, the District Court denied relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 pursuant to circuit law. Yet both the District Court and Court of Appeals then denied Petitioner a certificate of appealability (“COA”) despite not disputing that it’s “debatable,” Miller-El v. Cockrell, 537 U.S. 322, 336 (2003), whether Hobbs Act robbery is a § 924(c) “crime of violence.” The question presented is: Whether the Court should decide the “question left open after Taylor,” Stoney, 62 F.4th at 113, or grant, vacate and remand given the erroneous denial of a COA on this undisputedly “debatable” issue. Miller-El, 537 U.S. at 336.