U.S. v. Echols, 91-1084
| Decision Date | 19 December 1991 |
| Docket Number | No. 91-1084,91-1084 |
| Parties | NOTICE: Seventh Circuit Rule 53(b)(2) states unpublished orders shall not be cited or used as precedent except to support a claim of res judicata, collateral estoppel or law of the case in any federal court within the circuit. UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Robert L. ECHOLS, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit |
Page 352
v.
Robert L. ECHOLS, Defendant-Appellant.
Decided Jan. 6, 1992.
Before BAUER, Chief Judge, EASTERBROOK, Circuit Judge and ESCHBACH, Senior Circuit Judge.
Order
Robert L. Echols pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm after conviction of a felony, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). As part of a plea bargain, the prosecutor dismissed a second charge and agreed to recommend the minimum penalty allowed by law. Before Echols entered his plea, the prosecutor filed a notice contending that Echols should be sentenced as an armed career criminal under 18 U.S.C. § 924(e). The minimum allowed by § 924(e) is 15 years' imprisonment, which the prosecutor recommended and the district judge imposed.
Echols contends that he is not eligible for the enhancement under § 924(e), which applies only to persons previously convicted of three or more violent felonies or drug offenses. The prosecutor's notice identified three convictions for burglary, one in Arkansas and two in Illinois. Taylor v. United States, 110 S.Ct. 2143 (1990), holds that generic burglary is a violent felony for purposes of § 924(e). Generic burglary is "unlawful or unprivileged entry into, or remaining in, a building or structure, with intent to commit a crime." 110 S.Ct. at 2158.
Both states define as "burglary" acts in addition to those constituting generic burglary. Illinois includes entry of "a building, housetrailer, watercraft, aircraft, motor vehicle ..., railroad car, or any part thereof, with intent to commit therein a felony or theft." Ill.Rev.Stat. ch. 38 p 19-1. In 1971, when Echols committed the offense in Arkansas, that state included entry of boats, autos, railroad cars, and airplanes within the definition of burglary. Ark.Stat. § 41-1001 (Repl.1964). Echols, who entered his plea three months after Taylor and was not sentenced until seven months after Taylor, therefore had at least an argument that his convictions do not satisfy the statutory requirements. It is no more than an argument, however, because the Court added that it would
permit the sentencing court to go beyond the...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Guinan v. U.S.
...defendant's lawyer withdrew his claim of ineffective assistance, and the case was then decided on other grounds. United States v. Echols, 951 F.2d 352 (7th Cir.1992) (table); see United States v. Donaldson, supra, 978 F.2d at The fact that rehearing en banc is granted to examine a question ......