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United States v. Smith

United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit
Sep 6, 2016
No. 15-3033 (7th Cir. Sep. 6, 2016)

Opinion

No. 15-3033

09-06-2016

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. KEVIN LAMAR SMITH, Defendant-Appellant.


NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION
To be cited only in accordance with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 Before ILANA DIAMOND ROVNER, Circuit Judge DIANE S. SYKES, Circuit Judge DAVID F. HAMILTON, Circuit Judge Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. No. 14-CR-30034 Michael J. Reagan, Chief Judge.

ORDER

On February 20, 2015, Kevin Lamar Smith pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a weapon. He and the government disagreed as to whether he had three prior convictions that met the criteria for triggering an enhanced sentence under the Federal Armed Career Criminal Act. Under the Act, a court must impose a sentence of fifteen years on any defendant who is a felon in possession of a weapon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), and has three or more previous convictions for a "violent felony" or a "serious drug offense." 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1). Smith contends that one of his prior convictions, for burglary under Missouri law, does not qualify as a violent felony under the Act.

On June 23, 2016, the Supreme Court issued a decision in Mathis v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 2243 (2016), which clarified the manner in which a sentencing court determines whether a defendant's prior conviction qualifies as a violent felony for purposes of the enhanced sentence. In light of Mathis, the government now concedes that it is unable to demonstrate that Smith's conviction for second-degree Missouri Burglary qualifies as a predicate felony under the Act. We therefore VACATE Smith's sentence and REMAND for re-sentencing.


Summaries of

United States v. Smith

United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit
Sep 6, 2016
No. 15-3033 (7th Cir. Sep. 6, 2016)
Case details for

United States v. Smith

Case Details

Full title:UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. KEVIN LAMAR SMITH…

Court:United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit

Date published: Sep 6, 2016

Citations

No. 15-3033 (7th Cir. Sep. 6, 2016)

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