United States v. Christopher Mathis

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Decided: April 25, 2025
• Docket: 24-2179
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________

No. 24-2179 ___________________________

United States of America

Plaintiff - Appellee

v.

Christopher Charles Mathis

Defendant - Appellant ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas - Central ____________

Submitted: April 22, 2025 Filed: April 25, 2025 [Unpublished] ____________

Before LOKEN, ERICKSON, and STRAS, Circuit Judges. ____________

PER CURIAM.

Christopher Mathis received a 195-month prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a felon. See 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). An Anders brief suggests the district court 1 should not have sentenced him under the Armed Career Criminal Act. See id. § 924(e); Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967).

We conclude otherwise. See United States v. Porter, 409 F.3d 910, 917 (8th Cir. 2005) (describing the plain-error standard of review). The indictment charged Mathis with committing his prior offenses “on occasions different from one another,” 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1), and he “freely admitted” doing so “in [his] guilty plea,” Erlinger v. United States, 602 U.S. 821, 834 (2024). Once he did, there was no need to submit the different-occasions question to a jury. See id.

We have also independently reviewed the record and conclude that no other non-frivolous issues exist. See Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 82–83 (1988). We accordingly affirm the judgment of the district court and grant counsel permission to withdraw. ______________________________

1 The Honorable James M. Moody, Jr., United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas. -2-