The Supreme Court today broadly interpreted the federal Armed Career Criminal Act. In a 5-4 ruling, the court made it easier for prosecutors to seek longer prison terms in some cases of attempted burglary, reports the Associated Press. The decision ruled against a Florida man with three prior felony convictions, including one for attempted burglary. Defendants are eligible for longer prison terms under the federal law if they have three prior convictions for crimes that are either violent felonies or serious drug offenses.
The appeal argued that attempted burglary should not automatically be considered a violent crime. else. Lower courts and now the Supreme Court disagreed, rulng that greed that federal judge and the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with federal prosecutors. They successfully argued that the man’s prison term should be increased from no more than six years to a mandatory minimum of 15 years.
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041800776.html