Public Defense

David Lynch received a 15-year sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) and appealed. In an opinion that covered no new ground, the circuit affirmed. It held (again) that New York State convictions for attempted burglary in the third degree (N.Y. Penal Law §§ 110/140.20) and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree (N.Y. Penal Law § 265.03) both involve "conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another."

For the attempted burglary, the court reaffirmed its decision in United States v. Andrello, 9 F.3d 247 (2d Cir. 1993) (per curiam), and also noted that a recent Supreme Court case, James v. United States, 127 S.Ct. 1586 (2007), held that attempted burglary is an ACCA predicate.

Similarly, in United States v. Danielson, 199 F.3d 666 (2d Cir. 1999) (per curiam), the court held that a conviction of second-degree weapon possession, after a jury verdict, was an ACCA predicate. Here, the court rejected Lynch's arguments that (1) the rule should be different after a guilty plea and (2) that, since Lynch did not expressly admit all of the elements of the offense in his state court plea, the conviction was not covered by ACCA.

Full post as published by Second Circuit Blog on February 27, 2008 (boomark / email).