United States Fourth Circuit

Defendant's conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm and 268 month sentence as an armed career criminal under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) is affirmed, where: 1) defendant's three 2008 breaking and entering convictions qualify as predicate felonies for sentencing under the ACCA because the maximum possible prison sentence that defendant faced for his prior state convictions exceeded one year, even though he was sentenced in the mitigated range for those offenses; 2) for the same reason, defendant has the requisite predicate felony for the instant felon in possession conviction; and 3) defendant's argument that that his counsel in his initial appeal rendered ineffective assistance by failing to challenge his conviction on the basis that he lacked a predicate felony is moot.

Appellate Information

• Decided 12/03/2013
• Published 12/03/2013

Judges

• DIAZ

Court

• United States Fourth Circuit

Counsel