United States v. Anderson, No. 21-1325 (7th Cir. 2024)
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The case revolves around Denny Anderson, who was sentenced in 2012 for possessing a firearm as a felon, after shooting at a man and using racial slurs. The maximum penalty for the illegal-possession offense is typically 10 years, but the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) mandates a 15-year minimum sentence for anyone with three prior convictions for a "violent felony." Anderson was sentenced to an agreed-upon term of 180 months (15 years) in prison. He was resentenced in 2021, following a successful habeas petition he filed in 2013. The government maintained that he was subject to a 15-year minimum sentence due to his prior convictions.
The district court agreed that Anderson's convictions for burglary, robbery, and Florida aggravated assault qualified as violent felonies, triggering a 15-year minimum sentence. Anderson did not object to his designation as an armed career criminal. The court then resentenced him to 188 months in prison.
The United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reviewed the case and concluded that Anderson’s Florida conviction in 2001 is not a predicate violent felony and that the government may not substitute one of Anderson’s other prior convictions as an alternative predicate offense. Because Anderson does not have three predicate convictions, the ACCA enhancement was improper. The court vacated the judgment and remanded the case for resentencing.
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