United States v. Miller

478 F.3d 48 (1st Cir. 2007)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

On June 3, 2005, Miller pleaded guilty to a single-count indictment charging him with being a felon in possession of a handgun. P claimed that D should be sentenced as an armed career criminal. D disputed that claim. A defendant who has three prior 'violent felony' convictions is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen years. D had at least two prior convictions for violent felonies. They disagreed on the 3rd conviction from a state court for third-degree burglary on whether it constituted a countable predicate. A conviction for burglary may constitute a conviction for a violent felony within the purview of the ACCA. The district court reviewed the transcript of the state court change-of-plea colloquy. The district court found sufficient evidence to ground a conclusion that D's third-degree burglary conviction involved the burglary of a building (i.e., a store) and thus comprised a third ACCA predicate. D was sentenced as a career criminal. D appealed.