Opinion ID: 2593
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Archer

Text: Ralph Archer was arrested on May 14, 2004, for possessing a handgun. Archer pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm after having been previously convicted of an offense punishable by more than one year imprisonment, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). It is undisputed that Archer had been previously convicted of the following felonies: 1. November 1991: an ACCA predicate serious drug offense. 2. February 1995: a Class C New York felony of attempted criminal sale of a controlled substance in the third Degree, in violation of N.Y. Penal Law § 220.16(1) (New York Class C attempted drug sale felony). 3. March 1995: a New York Class C attempted drug sale felony. [3] Archer was sentenced on August 25, 2006. At sentencing, the government argued that these four prior convictions subjected Archer to the fifteen year mandatory minimum sentence of the ACCA, in Section 924(e). The sole dispute was whether Archer's convictions for the New York Class C attempted drug sales were convictions for serious drug offenses. Judge Holwell determined that the ACCA enhancement did not apply, explaining in a written decision that the definition of `serious drug offense' in the ACCA is properly interpreted as directing the court to look at the maximum term of imprisonment currently prescribed by state law, which he determined to be less than ten years for the New York Class C attempted drug sales. United States v. Archer, 461 F.Supp.2d 213, 221 (S.D.N.Y.2006). Judge Holwell sentenced Archer to 105 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.