United States v. Gregory Lee Chatman

CANBY, Circuit Judge:

INTRODUCTION

In 1984 the United States Congress enacted the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C.App. § 1202(a) (repealed and later incorporated into 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1)) (“the Act”). The Act provides a mandatory 15 year prison sentence for “a person who violates section 922(g) [firearm offense] ... and has three previous convictions by any court ... for a violent felony____” Violent felony is defined to include within its provisions “burglary.” 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)(ii).

Appellant Gregory L. Chatman was caught stealing property from an unoccupied car. A patdown search…