United States Sixth Circuit

In a prosecution of defendant for being a felon in possession of a firearm, district court's use of defendant's juvenile conviction for felonious assault to enhance his sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) is affirmed where: 1) the district court did not err in concluding that defendant's 1992 juvenile conviction is an ACCA predicate offense as the ACCA requires the federal court to look to the law of the state to determine the status of a defendant's prior convictions, and here, the Michigan Court Rules provide for the destruction of certain juvenile records when the offender turns thirty, but they do not expunge or set aside any juvenile conviction or prevent the use of that conviction by the sentencing judge in later state court proceedings; and 2) defendant's alternative argument that the district court's procedures, in making the determination that his juvenile conviction qualified as a predicate offense, was erroneous is rejected.

Appellate Information

• Argued 04/21/2010
• Decided 08/03/2010
• Published 08/11/2010

Judges

• BATCHELDER

Court

• United States Sixth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• David L. Kaczor, Russell A. Kavalhuna