Begay v. United States
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Begay v. United States | ||||||||||||||
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| Argued January 15, 2008 Decided April 16, 2008 |
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| Holding | ||||||||||||||
| Felony driving while intoxicated is not a “violent felony” within meaning of section of the Armed Career Criminal Act imposing special mandatory 15-year prison term upon felons who unlawfully possess a firearm and who have three or more convictions for violent felonies. | ||||||||||||||
| Court membership | ||||||||||||||
| Chief Justice: John Glover Roberts, Jr. Associate Justices: John Paul Stevens, Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy, David Souter, Clarence Thomas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito |
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| Case opinions | ||||||||||||||
| Majority by: Breyer Joined by: Roberts, Stevens, Kennedy, Ginsburg Concurrence by: Scalia (in the judgment) Dissent by: Alito Joined by: Souter, Thomas |
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| Laws applied | ||||||||||||||
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Begay v. United States, 128 S.Ct. 1581, is a United States Supreme Court case which held that felony driving while intoxicated is not a "violent felony" for purposes of the Armed Career Criminal Act.
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[edit] Facts
New Mexico resident Larry Begay had three felony convictions for drunken driving in New Mexico. He pleaded guilty to possessing a gun, which is illegal after having been convicted of a felony. Prior to the firearm arrest, Mr. Begay had been convicted twelve times of driving while intoxicated. Under New Mexico law, each driving while intoxicated conviction after the first three were considered felonies.[1]
The U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico concluded that the DWI convictions were violent felonies, triggering the federal career criminal law’s 15-year mandatory minimum sentence. A divided United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit panel affirmed the decision to treat the DWIs as violent felonies.[2]
[edit] Conclusion
In a 6-3 vote, the Court held that Mr. Begay's DWI convictions did not qualify as "violent felonies" because they were too different from the violent felony examples provided by Congress in the Armed Career Criminal Act (such as burglary, arson and extortion). Therefore, Mr. Begay should not have been subject to the mandatory sentencing hike.
Justice Breyer wrote the majority opinion with Justice Scalia concurring. Justice Alito dissented, with Justices Thomas and Souter, joining.[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Associated Press: Court rules DUI does not count as violent felony (http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iBqxtn2gkBjjR26hH9kizkPP8qSwD9031TL83) Published April 16, 2008
- ^ Northwestern University, Medill School of Journalism Supreme Court Docket - Begay v. United States (http://docket.medill.northwestern.edu/archives/004621.php)
- ^ U.S. Supreme Court: Written Opinion (http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/07pdf/06-11543.pdf)
