United States v. Taylor, No. 14-6048 (6th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseHayden acted as a confidential informant in a Martin, Tennessee investigation into felons in possession of firearms. Hayden contacted her acquaintance, Taylor; Hayden testified that he told her that he had stolen pistols and a shotgun. Law enforcement wired Hayden’s car with an audio transmitter and gave her controlled funds. Taylor eventually got into Hayden’s vehicle with a disassembled shotgun. Police stopped Hayden’s vehicle and apprehended Taylor. Officers reported they found the shotgun between the seat and the door where Taylor had been sitting. Taylor appealed his conviction and sentence of 262 months, for possession of a stolen firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(j), and as a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(g). The Sixth Circuit affirmed, rejecting arguments that: the court erred in giving a jury instruction for constructive possession of the firearm, in addition to an actual possession instruction; there was insufficient evidence to convict of possession of a stolen firearm; and sentencing was procedurally unreasonable because the court did not explicitly discuss whether a shorter sentence was warranted because the age at which Taylor would be released would decrease his danger to the community. The Supreme Court’s 2015 holding that the residual clause in the Armed Career Criminal Act was unconstitutionally vague, did not affect Taylor’s ACCA enhancement.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.