Violently Possessed: Johnson as the Vehicle for limiting Sentencing Enhancement under the Armed Career Criminals Act

Authors

Jonathan Robe

Document Type

Supreme Court Commentaries

Publication Date

3-6-2015

Subject Category

Constitutional Law | Law

Abstract

This commentary previews an upcoming Supreme Court case, Johnson v. United States in which the Court will decide whether conviction for mere possession of a short-barreled shotgun qualifies as a "violent felony" that warrants sentence-enhancement under the Armed Career Criminals Act. The Author argues that he plain text of the statute and the Court's prior cases on the issue suggest tat convictions for "mere possession" do not satisfy the definition of "violent felony" and that the Court should overturn the Eighth Circuit's ruling upholding Johnson's sentence enhancement.

Recommended Citation

Jonathan Robe, Violently Possessed: Johnson as the Vehicle for limiting Sentencing Enhancement under the Armed Career Criminals Act, 10 Duke Journal of Constitutional Law & Public Policy Sidebar 105-126 (2015)