95 F.4th 945
5th Cir.2024Background
- Richard Schorovsky pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).
- He had three prior Texas felony convictions: robbery, aggravated robbery, and burglary of a habitation.
- The district court enhanced his sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) due to these prior convictions, which were found to be committed on different occasions.
- Schorovsky was sentenced to the ACCA's mandatory minimum of 15 years imprisonment and five years supervised release.
- On appeal, Schorovsky challenged the ACCA enhancement, the classification of his prior convictions, compliance with Apprendi, due process notice, and the voluntariness of his guilty plea.
Issues
| Issue | Schorovsky’s Argument | Government's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Use of Shepard-approved documents to prove separate occasions | Indictments and judgments not sufficient to show offenses occurred on different occasions; dates insufficient | Documents were Shepard-approved and indicated offenses were on different dates | District court did not err; Shepard documents sufficed |
| Apprendi violation | Jury should have found that prior convictions occurred on separate occasions | Court can make finding; Apprendi excludes prior convictions | No Apprendi violation |
| Texas burglary statute as ACCA predicate | Texas burglary statute is broader than generic burglary under ACCA | Binding precedent holds Texas statute is generic burglary | Texas conviction counts as ACCA predicate |
| Sufficiency of plea colloquy and notice | Plea uninformed due to incorrect advice on sentencing range and supervised release | Schorovsky was later advised via PSR and did not seek to withdraw plea | No plain error affecting substantial rights |
Key Cases Cited
- Shepard v. United States, 544 U.S. 13 (sets limits on documents used in ACCA prior conviction analysis)
- Wooden v. United States, 595 U.S. 360 (defines what constitutes separate “occasions” under ACCA)
- Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (jury must find facts increasing sentence, except prior convictions)
- Beckles v. United States, 580 U.S. 256 (Sentencing Guidelines not subject to vagueness challenge, and do not implicate notice)
- United States v. Herrold, 941 F.3d 173 (Texas § 30.02(a) fits within ACCA’s definition of burglary)