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Cite as:  576 U. S. ____ (2015) 

1 

Opinion of the Court 

NOTICE:  This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in the
preliminary  print  of  the  United  States  Reports.  Readers  are  requested  to
notify the Reporter of Decisions, Supreme Court of the United States, Wash­
ington,  D. C.  20543,  of  any  typographical  or  other  formal  errors,  in  order
that corrections may be made before the preliminary print goes to press. 

SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 

_________________ 

No. 13–7120 
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SAMUEL JAMES JOHNSON, PETITIONER v. UNITED 
STATES 

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF 
APPEALS FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT 

[June 26, 2015] 

JUSTICE SCALIA delivered the opinion of the Court. 
Under  the  Armed  Career  Criminal  Act  of  1984,  a  de­
fendant  convicted  of  being  a  felon  in  possession  of  a  fire­
arm faces more severe punishment if he has three or more 
previous  convictions  for  a  “violent  felony,”  a  term  defined 
to include any felony that “involves conduct that presents
a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.”  18 
U. S. C.  §924(e)(2)(B).    We  must  decide  whether  this  part
of the definition of a violent felony survives the Constitu­
tion’s prohibition of vague criminal laws. 

I 
Federal  law  forbids  certain  people—such  as  convicted
felons, persons committed to mental institutions, and drug
users—to ship, possess, and receive firearms.  §922(g).  In 
general, the law punishes violation of this ban by up to 10
years’  imprisonment.  §924(a)(2).  But  if  the  violator  has 
three  or  more  earlier  convictions  for  a  “serious  drug  of­
fense”  or  a  “violent  felony,”  the  Armed  Career  Criminal 
Act  increases  his  prison  term  to  a  minimum  of  15  years 
and  a  maximum  of  life.  §924(e)(1);  Johnson  v.  United 
States, 559 U. S. 133, 136 (2010).  The Act defines “violent