Supreme Court to Hear Arguments Surrounding Sentencing Rules for Armed Criminals

The Supreme Court is set to hear oral argument on Nov. 27 over how courts should sentence criminal defendants under the federal Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA). Passed in 1984, the ACCA imposes a 15-year minimum sentence for individuals who are found to illegally possess a firearm while having three violent felony or serious drug offense convictions. A problem has arisen with changing prohibitions on drugs under federal and state law. Two cases are challenging the idea that criminals should receive the 15-year sentence depending on how various laws scheduled certain drugs at particular times in the judicial process. Jackson v. United States is asking whether the ACCA incorporates federal drug schedules that were active at the time of the initial drug offense or when the defendant violates the ACCA’s prohibition on possession of a firearm. Brown v. United States, meanwhile, is asking whether courts should look at federal drug schedules that were in place when the defendant was being sentenced....