|
No. 06–11543. Argued January 15, 2008—Decided April 16, 2008
 Stumble It! |
 Seed Newsvine |
 Del.icio.us |
Legal.com Links: Home Legal Areas : Bankruptcy Resources for: Legal Professionals Supreme Court Upholds Lethal Injection. Full Opinion: Baze v. Rees
|
Syllabus The Armed Career Criminal Act (Act) imposes a special mandatory 15-year prison term upon a felon who unlawfully possesses a firearm and who has three or more prior convictions for committing certaindrug crimes or “a violent felony.” 18 U. S. C. §924(e)(1). The Act defines “violent felony” as, inter alia, a crime punishable by more than one year’s imprisonment that “is burglary, arson, or extortion, involves use of explosives, or otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.” §924(e)(2)(B)(ii) (hereinafter clause (ii)). After petitioner Begay pleaded guilty to felony possession of a firearm, his presentence report revealed he had12 New Mexico convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI), which state law makes a felony (punishable by a prison term of more than one year) the fourth (or subsequent) time an individual commits it. Based on these convictions, the sentencing judge concluded that Begay had three or more “violent felony” convictions and, therefore, sentenced him to an enhanced 15-year sentence. The Tenth Circuit rejected Begay’s claim that DUI is not a “violent felony” under the Act. Held: New Mexico’s felony DUI crime falls outside the scope of theAct’s clause (ii) “violent felony” definition. Pp. 3–10. (a) Whether a crime is a violent felony is determined by how the law defines it and not how an individual offender might have committed it on a particular occasion. Pp. 3–4. (b) Even assuming that DUI involves conduct that “presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another” under clause (ii), the crime falls outside the clause’s scope because it is simply too unlikeclause (ii)’s example crimes to indicate that Congress intended that provision to cover it. Pp. 4–10. Next Page (2 of 2) |
©2008 Legal.com,
Inc. All rights
reserved The opinions expressed in the various articles collected here are the opinions of their authors and not necessarily the opinion of Legal Recourse or Legal.com. Trademarks are the property of their holders. |