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Usav.Keenan Joyner

CourtUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Docket No.16-17285
DecidedFebruary 22, 2018
JudgesUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Tags
CriminalCriminal LawCriminal ProcedureSentencingStatutory InterpretationConstitutional InterpretationJury Instructions
Case Summary

A jury convicted Keenan Joyner of possessing a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon, and the district court imposed an enhanced sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act. Joyner argued that the court’s supplemental instruction did not adequately answer the jury’s question about possession and that two prior Florida convictions did not qualify as violent felonies. The Eleventh Circuit affirmed. It held that the supplemental instruction correctly explained the governing possession principles and that Joyner was not entitled to the additional instruction he requested. Applying the categorical approach and circuit precedent, the court held that his Florida convictions for resisting an officer with violence and attempted strong-arm robbery qualified as violent felonies under the Act. It also rejected Joyner’s argument that the prior convictions had to be alleged in the indictment or proved to the jury, because recidivism is a sentencing factor rather than an element of the firearm offense. The conviction and sentence were affirmed.

Opinion

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