Background
Daniel Conner appealed his conviction and a one hundred eighty month sentence for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. He challenged the denial of his motions to withdraw his guilty plea and to dismiss the indictment, and argued that the district court erred in finding his prior drug offenses were committed on different occasions under the Armed Career Criminal Act.
The court’s reasoning
The court reviewed the denial of the motion to withdraw the guilty plea for abuse of discretion, finding the district court conducted a thorough colloquy and informed Conner of the consequences, including the bench trial for the sentencing enhancement. The court held that Conner waived any non-jurisdictional defects in the indictment by entering a knowing and voluntary guilty plea. Regarding the Armed Career Criminal Act, the court found Conner explicitly waived his right to a jury trial for the different-occasions determination in his plea agreement. The court further found that the four methamphetamine sales in 2017 occurred on separate occasions due to the substantial gaps in time between them, citing the Supreme Court’s decision in Wooden.
What it means going forward
This decision reinforces that defendants may waive their right to a jury trial for factual determinations regarding the Armed Career Criminal Act enhancement through plea agreements. It also clarifies that temporal separation of a week or more between drug offenses is sufficient to constitute different occasions for sentencing purposes.