United States v. Jevon Jenkins
2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 22594
| 7th Cir. | 2014Background
- Jenkins pled guilty in Illinois (2011) to one count of Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon (AUUW) and received probation; later Illinois courts held the AUUW provision facially unconstitutional.
- In 2013 Jenkins pled guilty in federal court to aiding and abetting a kidnapping and received a federal sentence of 168 months.
- Probation prepared a PSR that counted three criminal history points based on the Illinois AUUW conviction, yielding a criminal history category III and an offense range of 168–210 months.
- Illinois (Moore and Aguilar) held the AUUW statute unconstitutional; the Illinois Supreme Court later affirmed the constitutional invalidity in Aguilar.
- At sentencing Jenkins did not object to the AUUW points; St. Clair County later vacated the AUUW conviction (May 2014).
- On appeal Jenkins argues the district court erred in counting three points for a voided conviction and seeks remand for resentencing; the Seventh Circuit agrees and vacates and remands.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Jenkins waived his challenge to the AUUW points. | Jenkins did not knowingly relinquish the right. | Government asserts waiver due to lack of objection. | No waiver; plain-error review applies. |
| Whether counting points from an invalid AUUW conviction was plain error. | Three points were improperly counted; should be zero or one. | The district court relied on PSR; error not plain. | Yes, plain error; three points should not have been counted. |
| Whether Application Note 6 to § 4A1.2 requires only one point for an invalidated conviction. | Note 6 defeats points when the conviction was voided. | Note 6 not applicable because invalidation occurred in a prior Illinois case. | Jenkins should have been assessed only one criminal history point. |
Key Cases Cited
- Moore v. Madigan, 702 F.3d 933 (7th Cir. 2012) (AUUW unconstitutional, Illinois Second Amendment ruling)
- Aguilar v. People, 2 N.E.3d 321 (Ill. 2013) (Supreme Court of Illinois invalidates AUUW statute)
- People v. Tellez-Valencia, 723 N.E.2d 223 (Ill. 1999) (void ab initio doctrine in Illinois)