United States v. Montgomery

Montgomery pled guilty as a felon in possession of ammunition. He was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment plus three years of supervised release. Months after his release the government alleged that Montgomery had been charged with domestic assault and had “possessed/used a controlled substance (marijuana).” The government recommended that Montgomery’s supervised release be revoked with a suggested imprisonment range of 21–27 months, classifying his possession offense as a Grade B violation. Montgomery failed to appear. The court ordered his arrest. The government amended its Petition, adding driving with a suspended/revoked license and theft of property less than $500. Montgomery was arrested and argued that his simple possession conviction was a Grade C violation because it is punishable by less than a year in prison, although 21 U.S.C. 844 provides for an enhanced maximum sentence of two years if the defendant has a prior drug conviction. He claimed that 21 U.S.C. 851 required the government to charge him under section 844 and enhance his sentence under section 851(a)(1) in order to take into account his prior convictions. Because Montgomery was not charged under section 844, he argued, the court could only look to the “basic” one-year sentence for simple possession when classifying his violation. The court concluded that Montgomery committed a Grade B violation and sentenced him to 21 months’ imprisonment. The Sixth Circuit affirmed; a defendant need not have been formally charged under section 844 and enhanced under section 851, because whether the defendant experienced a separate formal prosecution at all for the conduct is irrelevant. View "United States v. Montgomery" on Justia Law