Jailhouse Lawyer Loses Sentencing Case in Supreme Court
The jailhouse lawyer who persuaded the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a fellow inmate’s challenge to his cocaine sentence has lost the battle.
The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the sentencing appeal based on a cert petition filed by former paralegal Michael Ray, who is in prison in connection with a fraudulent real-estate financing scheme. Ray filed the petition on behalf of Keith Lavon Burgess. The case was argued by Stanford law professor Jeff Fisher.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Ray’s argument in one of two sentencing cases decided today.
In Burgess v. U.S. (PDF posted by SCOTUSblog), the court held a drug crime that is punishable by more than one year in prison qualifies as a “felony drug offense” even if state law classifies it as a misdemeanor, SCOTUSblog reports.
Under the Controlled Substances Act, inmates convicted of certain drug offenses must be sentenced to a minimum of 20 years if they have previously been convicted of a “felony drug offense.”
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the unanimous opinion for the court, the Associated Press reports.
Since Ray’s successful cert petition was publicized, the South Carolina attorney general has begun to investigate him for practicing law without a license.
In the second sentencing case, the Supreme Court ruled on behalf of an inmate challenging his sentence.
The court ruled in Begay v. U.S. (PDF posted by SCOTUSblog) that drunken driving does not qualify as a violent felony justifying a higher sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act. Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote for the majority in the 6-3 ruling.
The act requires a 15-year minimum prison term for felons who possess a firearm and have at least three prior convictions for serious drug crimes or “violent” felonies.
Justices Samuel A. Alito Jr., David H. Souter and Clarence Thomas dissented, the Associated Press reports.
