Constitutional Law

Interesting mandatory sentencing case

Dean v. US, handed down today by the Supreme Court.

18 USC 924(c) imposes a mandatory sentence for use of a firearm in a federal violent crime -- 5 years if carried, 7 if brandished, and 10 if the firearm is discharged. The first sentence of the opinion sums up the case (with rather more wit than we are accustomed to seeing, but Roberts can do that):

"Accidents happen. Sometimes they happen to individuals committing crimes with loaded guns. The question here is whether extra punishment Congress imposed for the discharge of a gun during certain crimes applies when the gun goes off accidentally."

The majority holds that the 10 year mandatory does apply to an AD during a crime.

Full post as published by Of Arms and the Law on April 29, 2009 (boomark / email).