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2008 United States Supreme Court case From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Burgess v. United States, 553 U.S. 124 (2008), was a United States Supreme Court case concerning the interpretation of the words "federal drug offense" in the Controlled Substances Act.[1]
Keith Lavon Burges v United States | |
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Argued March 24, 2008 Decided April 16, 2008 | |
Full case name | Burgess v United States |
Citations | 553 U.S. 124 (more) 128 S.Ct. 1572; 170 L. Ed. 2d 478; 2008 U.S. LEXIS 3475 |
Case history | |
Prior | Appeals court affirmed conviction, 478 F.3d 658 (4th Cir. 2007). |
Holding | |
States classification of a drug offense as misdemeanor, that was punishable by more than 1 year in jail was classified as a felony drug offense under federal law. | |
Court membership | |
| |
Case opinion | |
Majority | Ginsburg, joined by unanimous |
Laws applied | |
21 U.S.C. 841 |
Keith Lavon Burgess was convicted in a South Carolina state court for cocaine possession.[2] Although the maximum sentence under state law was two years, South Carolina classified the offense as a misdemeanor, rather than a felony.[3] At a later proceeding, Burgess pleaded guilty for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine in Federal Court.[4] At his sentencing, the judge applied to Burgess the "prior conviction" statute, which required a minimum twenty-year sentence for anyone with a prior "felony drug conviction."[5] In Burgess' appeal to the Court he maintained that since South Carolina considered his first offense a misdemeanor, the "prior felony drug conviction" did not apply.[6]
In a unanimous opinion written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Supreme Court rejected Burgess' appeal, holding that "felony" refers to any offense that is punishable for more than a year even if another jurisdiction classifies the offense as a misdemeanor.[7]
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