United States v. Brown, No. 13-4442 (3d Cir. 2014)
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In 2010, while in state custody for another offense, Brown mailed a threatening letter to a federal magistrate judge, who had presided over dismissal of Brown’s habeas petition. Following an investigation, Brown pled guilty to mailing a threatening communication in violation of 18 U.S.C. 876(c). A presentence investigation report recommended that Brown be sentenced pursuant to the USSG career offender enhancement, which applies to a defendant convicted under section 876(c) if he has “at least two prior felony convictions of either a crime of violence or a controlled substance offense,” USSG 4B1.1(a). The recommendation was based on: a 1986 Pennsylvania conviction for aggravated assault; a 2004 Pennsylvania conviction for making terroristic threats; and 2005 Pennsylvania convictions for making terroristic threats and for retaliating against a judicial officer, in violation of 18 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 4953.1. The 2005 convictions arose from the same conduct. In sentencing Brown as a career offender, the district court followed the Supreme Court’s approach in United States v. Mahone. The Third Circuit vacated. Mahone is no longer controlling in light of Descamps v. United States (2013), in which the Supreme Court held that a sentencing court may not look to the facts underlying a prior conviction but instead must look to its elements.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on November 4, 2014.
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