United States v. Robert D. Strong

220 F. App'x 452

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Decided: March 30, 2007
• Docket: 06-1633
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

[UNPUBLISHED]

PER CURIAM.

Robert D. Strong was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Although Strong had at least three previous violent felony convictions, the district court did not originally sentence him as an armed career criminal because, at the time, the court believed that Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004), precluded it from finding facts relative to Strong’s prior offenses. On appeal, we affirmed Strong’s conviction but reversed and remanded with instructions to resentence Strong as an armed career criminal, finding that Strong’s prior convictions were violent felonies. United States v. Strong, 415 F.3d 902, 908 (8th Cir.2005) (Strong I). In reaching this conclusion, we rejected the argument that Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224, 118 S.Ct. 1219, 140 L.Ed.2d 350 (1998), no longer had precedential value. Strong, 415 F.3d at 906-07.

After Strong’s petition for writ of certiorari was denied by the Supreme Court, Strong v. United States, — U.S.-, 126 S.Ct. 1121, 163 L.Ed.2d 927 (2006), the district court, following our instructions, resentenced Strong as an armed career criminal. Strong again appeals and again questions the continuing validity of Almendarez-Torres. For the reasons stated in Strong I, we reject Strong’s argument. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court. 1

1 . The Honorable Jean C. Hamilton, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.