Public Defense

For a drug conviction to be an ACCA predicate, it must be of an offense ?for which a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years or more is prescribed by law.? 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(A)(ii). David Buie pled guilty to a drug offense in New Jersey that carried a ten-year statutory maximum, but at his plea hearing the judge promised that he would not sentence Buie to more than eight years: ?The [eight-year] plea bargain is the maximum. I could go under. I can?t go over.? The court of appeals rejected Buie?s argument that this promise took the conviction out of ACCA, noting that ?Supreme Court precedent ... requires that we look to the definition of the offense established by the state legislature.? Moreover, this is not the type of situation where a court looks ?beyond the statutory definition and fact of conviction in order to determine whether a prior offense qualifies as a predicate for ACCA purposes.? There is no exception to the ?categorical approach for a case, such as this, in which the defendant pleaded guilty to an offense carrying maximum term of imprisonment [of ten years] under a plea bargain restricting the punishment to a term shorter than that specified in the statute.?

Full post as published by Second Circuit Blog on November 14, 2008 (boomark / email).