Powell
United States v. Powell
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM **
Jesse Wade Powell appeals from the 180-month mandatory minimum sentence imposed under the Armed Career Criminal Act (the “ACCA”), 18 U.S.C. § 924 (e). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.
Powell contends that two of his state convictions did not qualify as violent felonies under the ACCA. Specifically, he contends that under the relevant state sentencing guidelines, he could not have been imprisoned for more than one year.
We disagree. These state convictions qualify for the enhanced sentence under § 924(e) because the statutory maximum sentences are “term[s] exceeding one year.” See United States v. Murillo, 422 F.3d 1152, 1154-55 (9th Cir.2005) (holding that a “crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year,” as such crimes are defined by statute, references the statutory maximum, not the guidelines maximum); United States v. Moreno-Hernandez, 419 F.3d 906, 914-15 (9th Cir. 2005) (holding that Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296 , 124 S.Ct. 2531 , 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004), did not retroactively alter the maximum sentence that could have been imposed at the time of the defendant’s prior conviction).