United States v. Hughes Anderson Bagley

INTRODUCTION

Hughes Anderson Bagley appeals from the district court’s denial of his section 2255 motion to vacate his sentence for five firearms convictions under 18 U.S.C. §§ 922 (a)(1), 922(h), and 18 U.S.C.App. 1202(a). Four of the five convictions were for a felon possessing firearms and felon in receipt of firearms, offenses based upon his previous conviction of a narcotics felony. Following the firearms convictions, the predicate felony narcotics conviction was vacated for constitutional infirmity. Bagley v. Lumpkin, 798 F.2d 1297 (9th Cir.1986).

In this section 2255 motion, Bagley has contended that because his felony narcotics conviction was vacated, it could not serve as the predicate for his subsequent four firearms convictions as a felon. He therefore seeks a collateral order vacating those convictions. For the same reason, i.e., the infirmity of the narcotics conviction, he argues that his now-vacated felony narcotics conviction should not have been available for impeachment purposes in the trial leading to the fifth conviction for dealing in firearms without a license, and thus that we must vacate this fifth firearms conviction as well.

Bagley’s principal…