United States v. Kennedy

The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s conviction for being a felon in possession of ammunition but vacated his sentence. On appeal, Defendant argued that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence obtained from a warrantless search of the vehicle he was driving and that the district court erred in finding that he qualified for a mandatory minimum sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA). The First Circuit held (1) under the circumstances of this case, the automobile exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement applied, and the search of the vehicle Defendant was driving was reasonable; and (2) Defendant was improperly sentenced as an armed career criminal. The court remanded the case for resentencing with the ACCA enhancement. View "United States v. Kennedy" on Justia Law