Taylor v. United States

495 U.S. 575 (1990)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Taylor (D) plead guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon under 18 U.S.C. §922(g)(1). D had four prior convictions one for robbery, one for assault, and two were for second-degree burglary. Under §924(e) the government sought sentence enhancement and D conceded that the robbery and assault convictions were proper but argued that the burglary convictions should not be counted as they did not involve conduct that presented a serious and potential risk of physical injury to another. D's guilty plea was conditioned upon his right to appeal this issue. The issue before the court was what definition Congress was using for burglary when it passed the statute.