Marcus Sykes, Petitioner v. United States (564 U.S. 1)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 9, 2011 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 564 U.S. 1 · 131 S. Ct. 2267
- Decided
- June 9, 2011
- Term
- October Term 2010
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority author
- Justice Kennedy
- Issue area
- Criminal Procedure
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court. It is a federal crime for a convicted felon to be in unlawful possession of a firearm. 18 U. S. C. § 922(g)(1). The ordinary maximum sentence for that crime is 10 years of imprisonment. § 924(a)(2). If, however, when the unlawful possession occurred, the felon had three previous convictions for a violent felony or serious drug offense, the punishment is increased to a minimum term of 15 years. § 924(e). The instant case is another in a series in which the Court is called upon to interpret § 924(e) to determine if a particular previous conviction was for a “violent felony/’ as that term is used in the punishment enhancement statute. See James v. United States, 550 U. S. 192 (2007); Begay v. United States, 553 U. S. 137 (2008); Chambers v. United States, 555 U. S. 122 (2009). In this case the previous conviction in question is under an Indiana statute that makes it a criminal offense whenever the driver of a vehicle knowingly or intentionally “flees from a law enforcement officer.” Ind. Code §35-44-3-3 (2004). The relevant text of the statute is set out in the discussion below. For the reasons explained, the vehicle flight that the statute proscribes is a violent felony as the federal statute uses that term. I Petitioner Marcus Sykes pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U. S. C. § 922(g)(1), in…
Excerpt of a 25,013-character opinion. The full text and citation network load in the interactive viewer above.