United States v. Joseph Lamont Stokes

ORDER

The opinión filed in this case on April 15, 2002, slip op. at 5647 [ 286 F.3d 1132 ], is amended by adding a new footnote 2, to be indicated at the end of the first paragraph on slip op. at 5656 [ 286 F.3d at 1186 ] (immediately following “... no comparable escape clause”). The footnote is to state:

The petition for rehearing is DENIED.

OPINION

This appeal presents two questions. The first is whether the search of a probationer’s car, as part of a criminal investigation and based only on reasonable suspicion, violates the Fourth Amendment. The second question is whether the procedural distinctions between the Armed Career Criminals Act (“ACCA”), 18 U.S.C. § 924 (e), and the federal three-strikes law, 18 U.S.C. § 3559 (c), deprive an individual sentenced under the ACCA of equal protection and due process. We conclude that neither the search nor the statutory sen tencing framework violates the Constitution. We therefore affirm the judgment of the district court.

Factual and Procedural Background

Joseph Stokes worked at the Last Chance Casino in Helena, Montana. He had previously been convicted of various crimes, including .robbery. At the time of his arrest in this case,…