Brown v. Rio, No. 11-1695 (7th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CaseBrown was convicted in 2000 of being a felon in possession of a gun, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1), for which the maximum sentence is normally 10 years in prison. Following a remand, the district court applied the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. 924(e)(1) and sentenced Brown to 264 months. Following an unsuccessful collateral attack on his sentence under 28 U.S.C. 2255, he filed a second challenge in reliance on the Supreme Court’s 2008 decision, Begay v. United States, that driving under the influence is not within the catchall provision of the ACCA because a crime within the catchall “typically involve[s] purposeful, ‘violent’, and ‘aggressive’ conduct.” The district court concluded that Brown had been convicted of three violent felonies or serious drug offenses, and upheld the sentence. The government conceded that Brown could use the habeas corpus statute to challenge the legality of his sentence. The Seventh Circuit reversed, holding that the ACCA did not cover either Brown’s Illinois conviction for compelling a person to become a prostitute or a conviction for possession of a gun while using drugs.
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