Chris Rayvon Starks v. United States
Environmental SocialSecurity Securities Immigration
Is the fact that the defendant committed three predicate offenses 'on occasions different from one another' an element of the ACCA for the jury to decide, or is it instead a fact that the sentencing judge may find based on non-elemental information gleaned from the records of the prior convictions?
QUESTION PRESENTED The Armed Career Criminal Act [“ACCA”] enhances the statutory penalty for a firearms offense under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) when the offender has three predicate convictions for offenses that were “committed on occasions different from one another.” 18 U.S.C. § 924(e). Is the fact that the defendant committed three predicate offenses “on occasions different from one another” an element of the ACCA for the jury to decide, or is it instead a fact that the sentencing judge may find based on non-elemental information gleaned from the records of the prior convictions? il