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Rainier: Service Station Burglary Counts as Violent Felony

By Tim Cone

In U.S. v. Rainier, No. 09-14014 (Aug. 31, 2010), the Court held that a defendant?s two prior Alabama burglaries each qualified as a ?violent felony? for purposes of his sentence enhancement under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA).The Court agreed with Rainier that his prior Alabama third-degree burglary was not a ?generic burglary? because Alabama defined this offense to include burglary of a vehicle, aircraft or watercraft ? whereas a generic burglary involves the burglary of a building. However, under the ?modified categorical approach,? a prior non-generic burglary can still qualify as a violent felony if certain record documents established that the crime involved the burglary of a building. Here, the charging documents showed that Rainier burglarized a service station and a shoe store...continue to full post

Full post as published by Defense Newsletter Blog on September 01, 2010 (boomark / email).