Kevin Lamont Martin v. Commonwealth of Virginia

McCullough, judge.

Kevin Lamont Martin was convicted of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. He was sentenced to the mandatory minimum in prison because he previously had been convicted of a “violent felony,” statutory burglary. The General Assembly did not classify statutory burglary as a violent felony until after appellant was convicted of this offense. Martin argues that the “retroactive recategorization” of his burglary conviction as a violent felony violates the Ex Post Facto Clause of the Virginia and United States constitutions. Like the vast majority of courts to consider the…