United States v. Homer Banner
518 F. App'x 404
6th Cir.2013Background
- Banner challenged the ACCA classification based on three separate drug offenses in 2002.
- The offenses were delivering cocaine on Sept 24, 2002; Oct 2, 2002; and Oct 9, 2002.
- All three offenses were pleaded to in a single plea and the defendant was sentenced to concurrent eight-year terms in 2005.
- The district court counted all three as separate ACCA predicates and imposed a 180-month sentence.
- Banner argued the offenses should be a single criminal episode under Hill; the court rejected this.
- Consolidation of offenses for plea/sentencing did not alter the timing-based separateness that determines predicate counts.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the three drug offenses constitute a single criminal episode under ACCA | Banner; offenses are a single episode | Government; offenses are separate under Hill tests | Offenses are separate; district court did not err |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Hill, 440 F.3d 292 ((6th Cir. 2006)) (three Hill indicia govern separateness of offenses under ACCA)
- United States v. Jones, 673 F.3d 497 ((6th Cir. 2012)) (confirms Hill framework applied to separateness)
- United States v. Paige, 634 F.3d 871 ((6th Cir. 2011)) (separate offenses even with close timing in some cases)
- Brady, 988 F.2d 664 ((6th Cir. 1993)) (examples of separate episodes with close times/places; governs interpretation)
- United States v. Thomas, 381 F. App’x 495 ((6th Cir. 2010)) (unpublished; separate offenses within proximity can still be separate)
- United States v. Roach, 958 F.2d 679 ((6th Cir. 1992)) (date of offense, not conviction date, governs predicate counts)
- United States v. Carnes, 309 F.3d 950 ((6th Cir. 2002)) (separate offenses where offenses occur successively at nearby locations)