United States v. Phillips, No. 13-5344 (6th Cir. 2014)
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In 1999, Phillips was convicted of a third-degree felony for burglary of a structure. The Florida statute defined burglary in the third degree as burglary in which the offender does not commit assault or battery, does not become armed with a dangerous weapon, and required that the structure be unoccupied. In 2012 Phillips pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). The district court determined that Phillips qualified for an enhanced sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. 924(e)(1), based in part on the Florida conviction. The Sixth Circuit affirmed, stating that under Florida’s burglary statute attempted burglary is a violent felony within the meaning of the ACCA’s residual clause in part because of the potential risk of violent confrontation with passersby. The court reaffirmed that the ACCA’s residual clause is not unconstitutional.
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