United States v. Chance Willis

MEMORANDUM

Chance Lorane Willis appeals the district court’s decision that he is a career offender pursuant to § 4Bl.l(a) of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. Willis argues that the district court improperly determined that one of his prior felony convictions— for first-degree robbery committed in Alabama at the age of 16 — was an adult conviction. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and affirm.

For purposes of career offender status, a prior felony conviction is defined as a “prior adult federal or state conviction.” U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2, Application Note 1. “A conviction for an offense committed prior to age eighteen is an adult conviction if it is classified as an adult conviction under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the defendant was convicted.” Id. Willis argues that Alabama does not classify his robbery conviction as an adult conviction because it defines an adult as “[a]n individual 19 years of age or older.” Ala.Code § 12-15-102(1). This argument fails to account for § 12-15-204(a)(2) of the Alabama Code, which provides that “[njotwithstanding any other provision of law, any person who has attained the age of 16 years at the time of the conduct charged ... shall…