Low Savings Rate: Applying the Section 2255 “Savings Clause” to Federal Sentencing Claims in Gilbert v. United States

On May 19, 2011, in Gilbert v. United States, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that a federal prisoner could not use the savings clause contained in 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to challenge collaterally an erroneous application of federal sentencing guidelines when the challenge was otherwise barred by the second or successive motion restriction. In doing so, the court closed off any avenue for relief for a significant number of federal prisoners who may have been sentenced erroneously. This Comment argues that the court’s interpretation of section 2255 represents an unconstitutional suspension of the writ of habeas corpus.