United States v. Paige
2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 5092
| 6th Cir. | 2011Background
- Paige convicted May 13, 2009 of felon in possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g).
- Presentence Report classified Paige as Armed Career Criminal under 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1) and U.S.S.G. § 4B1.4(b)(3)(B).
- Prior convictions include one aggravated assault and five aggravated robberies; robberies occurred on the same day but involved different times, locations, and victims.
- Robberies were pled to at the same time; district court treated them as separate offenses for ACCA purposes.
- Paige argued the five robberies constitute a single continuous spree, not multiple offenses; district court held Paige is an Armed Career Criminal.
- Paige was sentenced to 16 years and 8 months; Paige appeals the ACCA designation.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Paige’s five robberies constitute multiple offenses under Hill. | Paige: robberies were a single spree; Hill requires single offense. | Paige: Hill supports counting as one offense; Begay overrule-evasion. | Hill tests applied; robberies counted as multiple offenses. |
| Whether Begay implicitly overruled Hill. | Paige: Begay impliedly overruled Hill against non-recidivist outcomes. | Paige: Begay addresses violent felony scope, not Hill's occasions analysis. | Begay did not overrule Hill. |
| Affirmation of district court’s ACCA designation. | U.S. argues prior felonies meet ACCA criteria. | Paige disputes ACCA predicate count. | District court’s ACCA designation affirmed. |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Hill, 440 F.3d 292 (6th Cir. 2006) (establishes Hill three-prong test for different occasions)
- Begay v. United States, 553 U.S. 137 (U.S. 2008) (limits violent felony classification, does not overrule Hill)
- Ahearn v. Jackson Hosp. Corp., 351 F.3d 226 (6th Cir. 2003) (regarding authority to overrule circuit precedent)