Federal Sentencing Enhancements For Carrying A Weapon In A Crime
When dealing with federal gun charges, the primary concern is the defendant’s prior record. If a gun was used in the current case, it suddenly becomes vitally important to ensure that the prior record and gun convictions are not counted toward your criminal career record or the case at hand.
Section 924(c) of the federal code provides that the mandatory minimum term of imprisonment for possession of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence or a drug trafficking offense is five years. If this is a second or subsequent conviction of Section 924(c), the mandatory minimum term of imprisonment is 25 years. 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(C)(i).
This federal gun enhancement provision makes one crime with a gun a mandatory minimum of five years in federal prison. If a second offense is committed with a same or different gun, the penalty is a consecutive 25 years in jail.
These federal gun enhancements are in additional to the federal sentencing provisions under the of Armed Career Criminal Act’s (ACCA) enhanced-penalty provision in 18 USCS § 924(e). For example, despite fact that a defendant is sentenced on same date for all three convictions, because dates on which those crimes were committed showed that each of convictions represented separate criminal episode under ACCA, the federal gun enhancements apply.
The Armed Career Criminal Act’s (ACCA) definition of “serious drug offense” 18 USCS § 924(e)(2)(A)(ii) uses the term “involving,” expansive term that requires only that conviction be “related to or connected with” as opposed to including those acts as element of offense.
Success regarding these issues will come down to the manner in which your prior record is presented. Mistakes in this presentation can cause your record and the current case to be judged improperly. Skilled representation will aggressively contest assumptions based on the prior record and move to have it eliminated from current proceedings as much as possible.
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At Hark and Hark, we are skilled in crafting memos that persuasively advocate on behalf of our clients facing potential sentences from firearm charges. The refined art of advocacy in a federal sentencing memo is a unique obligation that combines both legal prowess and appropriate writing prose to effectively advocate for divergent ways to lower the initial offense level score from which the imprisonment determinations are made.
Your lawyer’s abilities here will make the difference in whether those prior charges and convictions are included in proceedings, directly and profoundly impacting your chances at a successful resolution. It is imperative that you have an attorney on your side that is able to achieve those results.
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To arrange a free initial consultation to discuss the gun charges against you and how we can fight for you, contact Hark and Hark online, or call us toll free at 877-4-HARK-LAW (877-442-7552).
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