SCOTUS To Decide If Fleeing From Officers Should Carry Violent Felony Sentencing

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to render a decision on whether using a vehicle to flee from police after being ordered to stop should be considered a violent felony and justify a longer sentence.

On Sept. 28, the court agreed to consider Sykes v. U.S. to consider this question, according to FedAgent.com.

In the case, defendant Marcus Sykes pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. As a result, the district court enhanced Sykes' sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) because Sykes previously had been found guilty of three violent felonies — two convictions in 1996 for robbery and one in 2003 for resisting law enforcement, which is a class D felony under Indiana law for fleeing from law enforcement in a vehicle.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit determined that a prior conviction for resisting law enforcement qualified as a violent felony conviction.

Read the full legal update at FedAgent.com.