Whether the Fourth Circuit should be required to properly apply the categorical approach to determine if a prior conviction is a 'serious drug offense' under the Armed Career Criminal Act

QUESTION PRESENTED Since 1990, this Court has required the lower courts to use the “categorical approach” in courts’ evaluation of a criminal defendant’s prior convictions when determining whether a defendant should be exposed to a lengthy sentence under | the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. § 924(e). This Court has issued : several cases containing clear directives regarding the proper application of this statutory analysis. The question presented here is whether the Fourth Circuit should be | required to properly apply the categorical approach, using the parameters set by this Court, to its determination of whether a prior conviction is a “serious drug | offense” under the ACCA, 18 U.S.C. § 924(e), and/or a “controlled substance offense” i . as that term is defined under the Sentencing Guidelines at U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1. | / i It I | BO