Joshua Gaines was convicted of possessing a firearm as a convicted felon under 8 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) based on his prior conviction in Alabama state court for receiving stolen property in the third degree, a Class D felony. Alabama law at the time foreclosed any prison term for Gaines given his record. After a plea deal in the state case, he was sentenced to a suspended 24-month term and two years’ probation.
Six months later, police officers found Gaines in possession of a gun during a traffic stop. Federal prosecutors charged Gaines with possessing a firearm after conviction of a “crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.”
Gaines moved for judgment of acquittal, arguing there was insufficient evidence that he had been convicted of a predicate “punishable” offense under § 922(g)(1). The trial court denied the motion and he was convicted and sentenced to 51 months of imprisonment and three years’ supervised release.
The Eleventh Circuit vacated the sentence and conviction. The panel first distinguished between an “offense-specific” and a “defendant-specific” reading of 922(g)(1), concluding that, under Carachuri and Moncrieffe, the latter applies to § 922(g)(1). Accordingly, whether a defendant’s prior conviction constitutes a predicate conviction under 922(g)(1) depends on the length of the term of imprisonment to which that particular defendant was potentially subject to, rather than the potential maximum terms of imprisonment that could be imposed on other defendants. The court further held that “imprisonment” in § 922(g)(1) means the potential for actual confinement in a prison, jail, or comparable facility, not simply probation, community corrections, or other noncustodial programs.
As applied to Gaines, Alabama’s Class D felony sentencing scheme did not carry punishment for more than one year of imprisonment per § 922(g)(1). Accordingly, the government failed to prove a § 922(g)(1) predicate and the court vacated Gaine’s conviction.
Appeal from the Northern District of Alabama.
Opinion by Newsom, joined by Brasher and Carnes.