134 F.4th 1292
11th Cir.2025Background
- Davion Rivers was convicted by a jury of being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).
- The prosecution sought an enhanced sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) based on three prior drug convictions from 2017.
- Rivers challenged the admissibility of evidence (the firearm and a shotgun shell) obtained after his arrest and following a search warrant at his residence.
- Rivers argued that his prior drug convictions did not occur on “occasions different from one another,” a key ACCA requirement, and that a jury (not a judge) must make that factual finding post-Erlinger v. United States.
- The district court denied Rivers’s motions to suppress, applied the ACCA enhancement, and sentenced him to 188 months in prison. The government did not seek ACCA enhancement, but the court imposed it anyway.
- On appeal, Rivers challenged both the denial of the suppression motions and the ACCA sentencing enhancement.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Suppression of evidence obtained at Rivers's home | Officers unlawfully entered the curtilage; evidence tainted | Officers used a customary/legal approach; acted within exception | No violation; evidence not subject to suppression |
| Suppression of shotgun shell from residence | Search warrant lacked probable cause | Affidavit showed probable cause; officer expertise sufficient | Warrant valid; suppression properly denied |
| Application of ACCA enhancement at sentencing | Prior convictions a single episode; jury required post-Erlinger | Findings properly by court; enhancement valid | Error for judge to find different occasions; vacated, remanded |
| Is Erlinger error structural or harmless | Structural error, requires vacating sentence | Harmless error, subject to review | Not structural; subject to harmless error review; not harmless |
Key Cases Cited
- Florida v. Jardines, 569 U.S. 1 (2013) (establishes the knock-and-talk exception to the Fourth Amendment warrant requirement)
- Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000) (jury must find facts that increase penalty beyond statutory maximum)
- Alleyne v. United States, 570 U.S. 99 (2013) (jury must find facts increasing mandatory minimum sentence)
- Neder v. United States, 527 U.S. 1 (1999) (harmless error analysis applies to omitted element from jury)
- Wooden v. United States, 595 U.S. 360 (2022) (guidance on 'occasions different from one another' under ACCA)
- District of Columbia v. Wesby, 583 U.S. 48 (2018) (probable cause is a low threshold for search warrants)
- United States v. Brundidge, 170 F.3d 1350 (11th Cir. 1999) (deference to judge's probable cause determination)