Opinion ID: 202519
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Constitutional and statutory claims

Text: 17 Bennett's remaining two claims merit little discussion. First, he claims that his Sixth Amendment rights were violated because the judge, rather than a jury, determined that his predicate conviction constituted a violent felony. Bennett suggests that United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005), requires that the nature of his conviction be determined beyond a reasonable doubt by a jury. We very recently rejected the position that a jury must determine whether a prior conviction is a violent felony for purposes of a sentencing enhancement; the determination is a question of law and therefore for the court, not the jury. United States v. Bishop, 453 F.3d 30, 32 (1st Cir.2006). 18 Second, Bennet claims that his Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights were violated because the Government failed to properly plead and prove the ACCA enhancements. He asks us to find that as a matter of statutory construction, the ACCA requires the Government to charge his prior convictions in an indictment and prove them beyond a reasonable doubt. Bennett concedes that he did not raise this issue below. We thus review for plain error, which requires that the defendant show (1) that an error occurred (2) which was clear or obvious and which not only (3) affected the defendant's substantial rights, but also (4) seriously impaired the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings. Duarte, 246 F.3d at 60. The district court committed no obvious error, since the text of the ACCA says nothing about pleading and proof of predicate convictions. Furthermore, we recently rejected in United States v. McKenney the constitutional argument that the Government must charge predicate convictions under the ACCA in an indictment, reiterating that [t]he Supreme Court has rejected the argument that under the Constitution, recidivism must be treated as an element of the offense, included in the indictment, and proved to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. 450 F.3d 39, 45-46 (1st Cir.2006) (citing Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224, 239, 118 S.Ct. 1219, 140 L.Ed.2d 350 (1998)). As a result, the district court did not commit plain error in failing to apply the doctrine of constitutional avoidance by reading into the ACCA Bennett's proposed requirement. There is no constitutional issue and therefore nothing to avoid.