Navajo Tribal Member Case in Supreme Court — Begay v. United States

Briefs and other materials are below the fold.

[Earlier this year], the Court granted certiorari in two cases that will examine the range of predicate convictions that qualify a person for elevated sentences under the Armed Career Criminal Act of 1984 (the “ACCA”). The ACCA imposes a minimum 15 year sentence, and authorizes a term of life imprisonment, for a person convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm if that person has been previously convicted on three separate occasions for a “violent felony” or “serious drug offense.” The act defines “violent felony” to include any adult crime punishable by at least 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.” This last clause is referred to as the “otherwise” or “residual” clause. The ACCA also defines “serious drug offense” to include offenses under state law “involving manufacturing, distributing, or possessing with intent to manufacture or distribute, a controlled substance . . . for which a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years or more is prescribed by law.”

Begay v. United States asks whether a felony conviction for driving while intoxicated counts as a “violent felony” under the ACCA. The petitioner, Larry Begay, pleaded guilty in district court to one count of being a felon in possession. The government argued for an ACCA sentencing enhancement, offering three of Begay’s prior felony DWI convictions as predicate “violent felonies.” The district court granted the enhancement, holding that DWI fell under the residual clause, and raised Begay’s sentence to 188 months from the guidelines range of 41 to 51 months. The Tenth Circuit affirmed the enhancement, with Judge McConnell filing a dissent that argued that the tools of statutory construction supported a reading of the ACCA that excluded DWI convictions from counting as violent felonies.

Tenth Circuit decision is here.

The cert petition is here.

And the cert opp is here.

The docket is here.

Petitioner’s brief is here.

Amicus brief of National Association of Federal Defenders is here.

Amicus brief of Families Against Mandatory Minimums is here.

Amicus brief of National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is here.

Respondent’s brief is due this week.

Oral Argument set for January 15, 2008.