Custis v. United States
United States Supreme Court
511 U.S. 485, 114 S. Ct. 1732, 128 L. Ed. 2d 517 (1994)
- Written by Tanya Munson, JD
Facts
Darren Custis (defendant) was convicted of possession of a firearm and possession of cocaine in federal district court. The federal prosecutor moved to have Custis’s sentence enhanced based on the Armed Career Criminal Act of 1984, 18 U.S.C. § 924(e), which raised the minimum sentence if a defendant had three previous convictions for a violent felony or serious drug offense. Custis had three prior state-court felony convictions. Custis argued that two of the prior convictions were obtained in violation of his constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel, in violation of his due-process right to have a judgment entered on a guilty plea only when it is knowing and intelligent, and that he had been inadequately advised of his rights before trial. The district court held that Custis had no statutory or constitutional right to challenge the prior convictions at the time of sentencing. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Rehnquist, C.J.)
Dissent (Souter, J.)
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