United States v. Haney

Haney pled guilty to possessing a gun as a felon, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). The district court found that Haney had at least three prior convictions for “violent felonies” under the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. 924(e)(1) (ACCA). His convictions were for two burglaries and armed bank robbery in Illinois and three aggravated assaults in Pennsylvania. The court sentenced him to the mandatory minimum of 15 years’ imprisonment. The Seventh Circuit vacated the sentence. The Illinois burglary statute at the time of Haney’s 1975 conviction included locations other than a “building or other structure,” falling outside the “generic” offense as defined by the Supreme Court, so Haney’s Illinois burglary convictions are not violent felonies under the ACCA. Even assuming that Haney’s convictions for aggravated assault are violent felonies, Haney is one predicate short of being an armed career criminal if, as Haney argues, all three of his assaults occurred on the same “occasion.” The issue was not addressed at sentencing. View "United States v. Haney" on Justia Law