In McCloud v. United States, the Second Circuit
(Walker, Raggi, Nardini) rejected the petitioner's
contention that a development in Circuit law following a
defendant's conviction constitutes a newly-discovered fact
extending the deadline for a defendant to file a habeas petition
under 28 U.S.C. § 2255. In so holding, the Second
Circuit reached the same conclusion as the three other circuits to
have addressed the question. It effectively limits the reach
of a recent favorable decision to pending and future cases.
McCloud was sentenced in 2009 to 202 months' imprisonment
for various narcotics and firearms offenses. That sentence
was driven in part by McCloud's two prior state convictions; at
the time, it was undisputed that those convictions were
"controlled substance offenses" that rendered McCloud a
"Career Offender" subject to a sentencing enhancement
under the Sentencing Guidelines. Nearly ten years later, in
United States v. Townsend, 897 F.3d 66 (2d Cir.
