United States v. Kirk

Defendant appealed his conviction and sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. The court concluded that the district court did not err in applying the fifteen-year mandatory minimum sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. 924(e)(1), where his prior burglary offense qualified as a violent felony under the ACCA's residual clause regardless of whether they were based on his "entering" or "remaining in" the dwellings at issue, and where defendant has failed to show that the district court erred in concluding that his prior convictions were for offenses "committed on occasions different from one another." Finally, the district court did not err in denying defendant's motion for judgment of acquittal where the government produced sufficient evidence to demonstrate the minimal nexus between the firearm and ammunition defendant possessed and interstate commerce. Therefore, the jurisdiction element of section 922(g) was satisfied and that statute was not unconstitutionally applied to defendant's conduct. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court. View "United States v. Kirk" on Justia Law