United States v. Coleman

After defendant pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, the district court sentenced him under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), based on defendant's prior Arkansas conviction for kidnapping and two prior convictions for serious drug offenses. The court reversed and remanded, holding that Arkansas Code 5-11-102, the statute that criminalizes kidnapping, did not qualify as a violent felony, because it was overbroad and indivisible. In this case, the nefarious purposes listed in subsections (a)(1) through (a)(7) were means, not elements. Therefore, defendant did not have the three predicate offenses to be sentenced under the ACCA. View "United States v. Coleman" on Justia Law