Richardson v. United States, No. 17-5517 (6th Cir. 2018)
Annotate this CaseIn 2012, after attempting to sell a sawed-off shotgun, Richardson pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a felon, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). Based on Richardson’s three prior Georgia burglary convictions, each of which qualified as a predicate “violent felony” under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. 924(e), the court sentenced him to 180 months’ imprisonment. Richardson did not appeal but subsequently brought a 28 U.S.C. 2255 motion to set aside his sentence, alleging that in light of the Supreme Court’s 2015 "Johnson" decision, his burglary convictions no longer qualified as predicate "violent felonies" under the ACCA. The Sixth Circuit affirmed the denial of relief. ACCA defines “violent felony” to include “generic burglary,” “an unlawful or unprivileged entry into, or remaining in, a building or other structure, with intent to commit a crime.” While the Georgia burglary statute criminalizes more conduct than the generic definition because it includes vehicles, railcars, watercraft, and aircraft in its list of covered locations covered, the court employed the modified categorical approach and concluded that the law is divisible. Richardson’s state court indictments make clear that his convictions involved three elements: an unlawful entry into a dwelling house or building with intent to commit a crime therein.
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.