No. 25-5654

Thomas Bradley v. United States

Lower Court: Sixth Circuit
Docketed: 2025-09-16
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
Response WaivedIFP Experienced Counsel
Tags: armed-career-criminal-act double-jeopardy fifth-amendment sentencing-enhancement shepard-documents sixth-amendment
Key Terms:
FifthAmendment Privacy
Latest Conference: 2025-10-17
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Whether the Double Jeopardy Clause prohibits imposing an enhanced ACCA sentence when a defendant pleaded guilty only to the simple § 922(g) offense and jeopardy has attached to that conviction?

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

In 2022, Petitioner Thomas Bradley was charged with and pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). At sentencing, over his objection, the judge imposed an enhanced penalty under the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1) (“ACCA”), based on its finding—by a preponderance of the evidence and based on information from Shepard documents outside the record of the plea proceeding—that he had at least three prior ACCA-qualifying convictions committed on “occasions different from one another.” While Mr. Bradley’s appeal was pending, this Court decided Erlinger v. United States, 602 U.S. 821 (2024), establishing that his ACCA sentence was imposed in violation of the Fifth and Sixth Amendments. In reaching its conclusion, the Court explained why sentencing judges cannot use information from Shepard documents to decide whether a defendant committed his prior offenses on different occasions. The questions presented are: I. Because harmless-error review of Erlinger error typically requires appellate judges to evaluate facts outside the record of conviction for the charged § 922(g)(1) offense, is Erlinger error structural? II. If harmless-error review applies to Erlinger error, can appellate judges rely on Shepard documents to decide what a hypothetical jury would find when the defendant pled guilty only to the charged § 922(g) offense? III. Whether the Double Jeopardy Clause prohibits imposing an enhanced ACCA sentence when a defendant pleaded guilty only to the simple § 922(g) offense and jeopardy has attached to that conviction?

Docket Entries

2025-10-20
Petition DENIED.
2025-10-02
DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 10/17/2025.
2025-09-30
Waiver of right of respondent United States of America to respond filed.
2025-09-12
Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due October 16, 2025)
2025-07-09
Application (25A16) granted by Justice Kavanaugh extending the time to file until September 14, 2025.
2025-07-02
Application (25A16) to extend the time to file a petition for a writ of certiorari from July 16, 2025 to September 14, 2025, submitted to Justice Kavanaugh.

Attorneys

Thomas Bradley
Jennifer Niles CoffinFederal Defender Services of E.D. Tennessee, Petitioner
Jennifer Niles CoffinFederal Defender Services of E.D. Tennessee, Petitioner
United States of America
D. John SauerSolicitor General, Respondent
D. John SauerSolicitor General, Respondent