Richard A. Jiles v. United States
HabeasCorpus JusticiabilityDoctri
Was the Eleventh Circuit correct to find that Mr. Jiles' prior burglary conviction under O.C.G.A. § 16-7-1 was a predicate offense under the ACCA, 18 U.S.C. §924(e)?
QUESTION PRESENTED Petitioner Richard A. Jiles was convicted in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He was sentenced under the enhanced criminal penalties in the Armed Career Criminal Act (“ACCA”), 18 U.S.C. § 924(e) (2014), by virtue of three Georgia predicate convictions, including one for burglary in violation of O.C.G.A. § 16-7-1 (2005). In United States v. Gundy, 842 F.3d 1156 (11 Cir. 2016), a divided panel of the Eleventh Circuit held that the Georgia burglary statute qualified as an ACCA predicate because it is unambiguously a divisible statute. Other courts have concluded otherwise. Accordingly, the question presented is: 1. Was correct to find that Mr. Jiles’ prior burglary conviction under O.C.G.A. § 16-7-1 was a predicate offense under the ACCA, 18 U.S.C. §924(e)? i