United States v. Dowthard, No. 18-2088 (7th Cir. 2020)
Annotate this CaseDowthard pleaded guilty as a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. 922(g). Because of his prior state convictions, he was sentenced under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), section 924(e), to 186 months in prison. Although he did not raise the argument in the district court, he argued on appeal that the Supreme Court’s 2019 Rehaif decision invalidated his plea because he was not informed that knowledge of his status as a previously convicted felon was an element of his section 922(g) charge. Alternatively, he disputed his classification as an Armed Career Criminal, arguing that two of the four prior offenses used to sentence him did not qualify as violent felonies. The Seventh Circuit affirmed the conviction and sentence. Dowthard had the burden of showing that a misunderstanding of the elements of his offense affected his substantial rights but he did not even assert that he would not have pleaded guilty if he had properly understood the elements. His prior Illinois conviction for attempted aggravated domestic battery has as an element the attempted use of physical force and counts as an ACCA “violent felony.” With that conviction and the two he did not challenge, he has the three necessary predicates for an enhanced sentenced under section924(e).
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