Quarles v. United States

139 S. Ct. 1872 (2019)

Purchase the Printed Copy at bsmsphd.com

Nature of the Case

To access this section all you need to do is click here and register.

Facts

The Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), mandates a minimum 15-year prison sentence for a felon who unlawfully possesses a firearm and has three prior convictions for a “serious drug offense” or “violent felony.” “Burglary” means “unlawful or unprivileged entry into, or remaining in, a building or structure, with intent to commit a crime.” Police responded to a 911 call. The caller, Chasity Warren, told the officers that she had just escaped from her boyfriend, D. D had threatened her at gunpoint and also hit her. While Police talked to her, D drove by. D was arrested and inside his home, they found a semiautomatic pistol. D pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. D had at least three prior convictions and qualified under ACCA. One conviction was for third-degree home invasion stemming from an attempt to chase down an ex-girlfriend who had sought refuge in a nearby apartment. D argues that the home invasion did not qualify as a burglary under §924(e). In Michigan, a person commits third-degree home invasion if he or she “breaks and enters a dwelling or enters a dwelling without permission and, at any time while he or she is entering, present in, or exiting the dwelling, commits a misdemeanor.” D claimed the state statute swept too broadly to qualify as burglary under §924(e) because it encompassed situations where the defendant forms the intent to commit a crime at any time while unlawfully remaining in a dwelling, not at the exact moment when the defendant is first unlawfully present in a dwelling. The court rejected the premise and D was sentenced and appealed. The Sixth Circuit affirmed. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.