United States v. Harris

323 F. Supp. 3d 944
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedAugust 17, 2018
DocketCase No. 17-cr-20821
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 323 F. Supp. 3d 944 (United States v. Harris) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Harris, 323 F. Supp. 3d 944 (E.D. Mich. 2018).

Opinion

MATTHEW F. LEITMAN, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

On January 24, 2018, Defendant Jacourtney Harris pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). In connection with Harris' sentencing, a dispute arose over whether a guilty plea that Harris entered in 2014 in state court to a charge of unarmed robbery constitutes a "conviction" for a "crime of violence" as those terms are used in § 2K2.1(a)(4) of the United States Sentencing Guidelines (the "Guidelines").

Harris entered the earlier plea under Michigan's Holmes Youthful Trainee Act (the "HYTA"), Mich. Comp. Laws § 762.11. That statute allows a juvenile to avoid a formal conviction by pleading guilty to an offense and successfully completing his sentence. Harris completed his sentence for unarmed robbery, and the state court dismissed the case against Harris without entering a judgment of conviction.

With respect to sentencing in this case, if Harris' prior plea under the HYTA qualifies as a "conviction" for a "crime of violence," then Harris' base offense level under the Guidelines is 20. U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(a)(4). If the plea does not amount to a "conviction" for a "crime of violence," then Harris' base offense level is 14. U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(a)(6).

At the sentencing hearing, the Court determined that unarmed robbery under Michigan law is not a "crime of violence" under § 2K2.1(a)(4) of the Guidelines, and Harris' base offense level is therefore 14. The Court orally explained the basis for that ruling, and the Court now issues this written Opinion and Order to clarify, supplement, *946and more fully explain its decision.

I

The Guidelines provision at issue, U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(a)(4), provides that a defendant's base offense level for a felon in possession conviction is 20 if "the defendant committed any part of the instant offense subsequent to sustaining one felony conviction of either a crime of violence or a controlled substance offense." Harris argues that his unarmed robbery plea should not result in a base offense level of 20 under this provision for two reasons. First, Harris contends that his plea under the HYTA did not result in a "conviction." Second, he argues that unarmed robbery is not a "crime of violence." The Court addresses each argument separately below.

II

Harris first argues that his prior guilty plea to unarmed robbery is not a "conviction" under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(a)(4) because he successfully completed his sentence and, at that point, had his civil rights "restored" under the HYTA. (Harris Sentencing Mem., ECF # 19 at Pg. ID 77.) In support of this argument, Harris relies upon 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20). That statutory provision excludes certain offenses from the term "crime punishable by imprisonment for more than one year" as used in a chapter of the United States Code concerning criminal firearms offenses.1 The statute provides:

The term "crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year" does not include-
(A) any Federal or State offenses pertaining to antitrust violations, unfair trade practices, restraints of trade, or other similar offenses relating to the regulation of business practices, or
(B) any State offense classified by the laws of the State as a misdemeanor and punishable by a term of imprisonment of two years or less.
What constitutes a conviction of such a crime shall be determined in accordance with the law of the jurisdiction in which the proceedings were held. Any conviction which has been expunged, or set aside or for which a person has been pardoned or has had civil rights restored shall not be considered a conviction for purposes of this chapter , unless such pardon, expungement, or restoration of civil rights expressly provides that the person may not ship, transport, possess, or receive firearms.

18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20) (emphasis added).

Harris focuses on the italicized language above. He contends that "conviction" in § 2K2.1(a)(4) should be read in light of, and consistently with, this language. Such a reading, Harris argues, yields the conclusion that a defendant who has successfully completed a HYTA sentence and had his civil rights "restored" has not been "convicted" of a crime for purposes of § 2K2.1(a)(4). At the sentencing hearing, counsel for Harris candidly acknowledged that she could not cite any case in which any court has reached that conclusion.

The Court is not yet prepared to accept Harris' argument that, by operation of 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(20), a defendant has not been "convicted" as that term is used in § 2K2.1(a)(4) where he has pleaded guilty to an offense under the HYTA, successfully completed his sentence, and had his civil rights restored. Before the Court could reach that conclusion, it would need to be *947persuaded, among other things, that "conviction" in § 2K2.1(a)(4) should be read in light of the statute cited by Harris rather than in light of the definition of "convicted of an offense" in another provision of the Guidelines themselves: § 4A1.2(a)(4). That Guidelines provision states that " '[c]onvicted of an offense,' for purposes of this provision, means that the guilt of the defendant has been established, whether by guilty plea, trial, or plea of nolo contendere." U.S.S.G. § 4A1.2(a)(4). If "conviction" in § 2K2.1(a)(4) is read in light of the definition in § 4A1.2(a)(4), then a guilty plea entered under the HYTA would appear to count as a "conviction."

Another potential obstacle in Harris' way is the Sixth Circuit's suggestion in United States v. Pritchett , 749 F.3d 417, 423-24 (6th Cir. 2014), that a guilty plea fits within the ordinary meaning of the term "conviction," and its holding in that case that a guilty plea followed by a diversionary sentence (without entry of a judgment of guilt) constituted a conviction under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A). Before the Court could accept Harris' argument here, Harris would have to explain why Pritchett

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Bluebook (online)
323 F. Supp. 3d 944, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-harris-mied-2018.