Supreme Court of the United States

McNeill v. United States

June 6, 2011131 S. Ct. 2218

Summary

The Supreme Court held that for purposes of the Armed Career Criminal Act, the maximum term of imprisonment for a prior state drug offense is determined by the law applicable at the time of the defendant's conviction, not at the time of federal sentencing. The Court affirmed the Fourth Circuit's judgment that McNeill's prior convictions qualified as serious drug offenses despite subsequent reductions in state sentencing penalties.