South Carolina Criminal Lawyer Blog

In a recent opinion, United States v. Rivers, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit readdressed whether a conviction for failure to stop for a blue light in South Carolina constitutes a crime of violence under the Armed Career Criminal Act ("ACCA"). In light of the Supreme Court's decision in Chambers, the Fourth Circuit held that this state crime does not qualify as an ACCA predicate.

Federal law prohibits previously convicted felons from possessing a firearm. Normally, under section 924 of the United States Code, a felon in possession of a firearm could receive a maximum sentence of up to ten years in prison. However, a defendant charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon with three prior convictions for a violent felony or a serious drug offense qualifies as an armed career criminal. As a result, the accused is subjected to a mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen (15) years imprisonment. It is therefore important to inform your criminal defense attorney of any prior convictions when charged with any federal crime, especially a firearms offense.

The Fourth Circuit previously held in Roseboro that a conviction under South Carolina's failure to stop for a blue light satisfied the test established by the United States Supreme Court in Begay v. United States and qualified as a violent felony. The Roseboro court used the modified categorical approach to determine that the crime could constitute a violent felony if the underlying conduct included willful or intentional behavior. However, in Rivers, the court held that failure to stop for a blue light only contains one category of crime, so using the categorical approach outlined in Chambers, the court determined that this south carolina state conviction can never qualify as an ACCA predicate.

Prior convictions are routinely used in federal court to enhance a defendant's sentence. It is therefore important to contact an experienced federal attorney when facing a federal indictment.