Dawson v. United States, No. 11-5021 (6th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CaseDawson hit his girlfriend and pointed a gun at her son, threatening to kill them. Police responded and saw Dawson discarding a stolen firearm. Dawson was indicted for possession of a firearm by a felon, 18 U.S.C. 922(g), and possession of a stolen firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(j). Dawson moved to exclude testimony regarding the altercation. The trial court granted the motion to the extent of excluding references to “aggravated assault.” It instructed the jury that it could convict based on either actual or constructive possession. Dawson did not object to the instructions. Dawson argued that he should not be sentenced under the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. 924(e), because a 1993 conviction for attempted rape did not qualify as a violent felony and two 1988 convictions for violent felonies should count as only one predicate because they were based on a single event. The district court concluded that the 1993 conviction, a 2001 conviction for aggravated burglary, and one of the 1988 convictions qualified and, on remand, sentenced Dawson to 180 months, the ACCA statutory minimum, then denied a motion to vacate under 28 U.S.C. 2255, based on the admission of the assault evidence, the constructive possession instruction, and ineffective assistance. The Sixth Circuit rejected his appeal.
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