UNITED STATES v. BREWER (2021)

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.2021-07-13No. No. 21-1286

Summary · law.co

Holding. The court affirmed the district court's order denying Brewer's petition for a certificate of innocence.

Kevin Brewer sought a certificate of innocence under federal law after his original conviction for a sex offender registration violation was vacated in prior proceedings. The district court denied his petition, and Brewer appealed. The appellate court examined the record and found no abuse of discretion by the lower court in its denial.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

Whether Brewer qualified for a certificate of innocence after his conviction was vacated
Whether the conduct underlying the vacated conviction violated state law
Burden of proof required to establish eligibility for relief under the certificate of innocence statute

Procedural posture

Brewer appealed the district court's denial of his petition for a certificate of innocence, with the appellate court reviewing for abuse of discretion.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion · public domain

[Unpublished]

Kevin Brewer appeals the district courts

order denying his petition for a certificate of innocence under 28 U.S.C. § 2513. Our review of the record satisfies us that the district court did not abuse its discretion. See United States v. Racing Servs., Inc., 580 F.3d 710, 713 (8th Cir. 2009) (standard of review). Brewers conduct underlying his 18 U.S.C. § 2250(a) conviction, which was ultimately vacated pursuant to proceedings under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, see United States v. Brewer, 766 F.3d 884, 886-92 (8th Cir. 2014), constituted a violation of state law, see United States v. Brewer, 628 F.3d 975, 977-78 (8th Cir. 2010); see also United States v. Mills, 773 F.3d 563, 566-67 (4th Cir. 2014) (The plain language of § 2513(a) places the burden on petitioner to “allege and prove” predicates entitling him to relief, including that acts underlying vacated conviction constitute no federal or state crime.). The judgment is affirmed. See 8th Cir. R. 47B.

FOOTNOTES

. The Honorable Robert T. Dawson, United States District Judge for the Western District of Arkansas, adopting the Report and Recommendation of the Honorable Barry A. Bryant, United States Magistrate Judge for the Western District of Arkansas.

PER CURIAM.