United States v. Jermaine Sims, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 12938

Sims pleaded guilty to felon in possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g).
District court sentenced Sims to 180 months based on ACCA’s 15-year mandatory minimum.
Two of Sims’s prior convictions for drug offenses occurred January 11 sale and January 18 possession, separated by one week.
A third prior conviction, aggravated discharge of a weapon in 1997, was counted toward ACCA.
Sims appeals arguing the two drug offenses were not on occasions different from one another; district court denied.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the January 11 sale and January 18 possession were on different occasions for ACCA.	Sims: offenses are not separate occasions because possession is passive and closely linked to sale.	Government: separate offenses exist when offenses are distinct episodes separated by time.	Yes; offenses were on different occasions; ACCA applies.

Hudspeth, 42 F.3d 1015 (7th Cir. 1994) (separate and distinct criminal episodes may occur even when close in time)
Godinez, 998 F.2d 471 (7th Cir. 1993) (distinct aggressions concept in ACCA context)
Vitrano, 405 F.3d 506 (7th Cir. 2005) (burden shifting on ACCA predicate evidence)
Cardenas, 217 F.3d 491 (7th Cir. 2000) (sequential drug offenses can be separate offenses for ACCA)
Van, 543 F.3d 963 (8th Cir. 2008) (separate drug offenses can count as distinct occasions)
Johnson, 130 F.3d 1420 (10th Cir. 1997) (cases treating multiple drug offenses as separate occasions)
Letterlough, 63 F.3d 332 (4th Cir. 1995) (drug offenses as separate ACCA occasions)
Maxey, 989 F.2d 303 (9th Cir. 1993) (multiple charges from a single drug transaction may or may not count separately)
Blackwood, 913 F.2d 139 (4th Cir. 1990) (two possessions in separate contexts treated as single act in some contexts)
Archer, 531 F.3d 1347 (11th Cir. 2008) (possession generally passive; context matters for ACCA")