Clifton Terelle Mcneill, Petitioner v. United States (563 U.S. 816)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 6, 2011 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 563 U.S. 816 · 131 S. Ct. 2218
- Decided
- June 6, 2011
- Term
- October Term 2010
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Thomas
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Thomas delivered the opinion of the Court. Under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), a prior state drug-trafficking conviction is for a “serious drug offense” if “a maximum term of imprisonment of ten years or more is prescribed by law” for the offense. 18 U. S. C. § 924(e)(2)(A)(ii). The question in this case concerns how a federal court should determine the maximum sentence for a prior state drug offense for ACCA purposes. We hold that the “maximum term of imprisonment” for a defendant’s prior state drug offense is the maximum sentence applicable to his offense when he was convicted of it. I After an extended chase, police officers in Fayetteville, North Carolina, apprehended petitioner Clifton Terelle Mc-Neill. McNeill was caught with 3.1 grams of crack cocaine packaged for distribution and a .38-caliber revolver. In August 2008, he pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, 18 U. S. C. § 922(g)(1), and possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, 21 U. S. C. § 841(a)(1). At sentencing, the District Court determined that McNeill qualified for ACCA’s sentencing enhancement. Under ACCA, a person who violates 18 U. S. C. § 922(g) and “has three previous convictions ... for a violent felony or a serious drug offense” is subject to a 15-year minimum prison sentence. § 924(e)(1). McNeill conceded that two of his prior convictions — assault…
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