Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-06-01633/USCOURTS-ca8-06-01633-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Robert D. Strong
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 06-1633

___________

United States of America, * 

* 

Appellee, * Appeal from the United States

* District Court for the 

v. * Eastern District of Missouri.

*

Robert D. Strong, * [UNPUBLISHED]

* 

Appellant. *

___________

Submitted: March 12, 2007

Filed: March 30, 2007

___________

Before MELLOY, SMITH, and BENTON, Circuit Judges.

___________

PER CURIAM.

Robert D. Strong was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in

violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Although Strong had at least three previous violent

felony convictions, the district court did not originally sentence him as an armed

career criminal because, at the time, the court believed that Blakely v. Washington,

542 U.S. 296 (2004), precluded it from finding facts relative to Strong's prior offenses.

On appeal, we affirmed Strong's conviction but reversed and remanded with

instructions to resentence Strong as an armed career criminal, finding that Strong's

prior convictions were violent felonies. United States v. Strong, 415 F.3d 902, 908

(8th Cir. 2005) (Strong I). In reaching this conclusion, we rejected the argument that

Appellate Case: 06-1633 Page: 1 Date Filed: 03/30/2007 Entry ID: 3293684
1

The Honorable Jean C. Hamilton, Chief Judge, United States District Court for

the Eastern District of Missouri.

-2-

Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224 (1998), no longer had precedential

value. Strong, 415 F.3d at 906–07.

After Strong's petition for writ of certiorari was denied by the Supreme Court,

Strong v. United States, ___ U.S. ___, 126 S. Ct. 1121 (2006), the district court,

following our instructions, resentenced Strong as an armed career criminal. Strong

again appeals and again questions the continuing validity of Almendarez-Torres. For

the reasons stated in Strong I, we reject Strong's argument. Accordingly, we affirm the

judgment of the district court.1

______________________________

Appellate Case: 06-1633 Page: 2 Date Filed: 03/30/2007 Entry ID: 3293684