Burgess v. United States

Keith Lavon Burges v United States

Argued March 24, 2008
Decided April 16, 2008
Full case name Burgess v United States
Citations

553 U.S. 124 (more)

128 S.Ct. 1572
Prior history Appeals court affirmed conviction, 478 F.3d 658 (4th Cir. 2007).
Holding
States classification of a drug offense as misdemeanor, that was punishable by more than 1 year in jail was classified as a felony drug offense under federal law.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John G. Roberts
Case opinions
Majority Ginsburg, joined by all Justices
Laws applied
21 U.S.C. 841

Burgess v. United States, 553 U.S. 124 (2008), is a United States Supreme Court case concerning the interpretation of the words "federal drug offense" in the Controlled Substances Act.

Keith Lavon Burgess was convicted in a South Carolina state court for cocaine possession. The maximum sentence under state law was two years. The offense was punishable by more than one year, but South Carolina considered it a misdemeanor, not a felony. Burgess then pleaded guilty for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine in Federal Court. At his sentencing, the judge applied to Burgess the "prior conviction" statute, which required a minimum twenty-year sentence for anyone with a prior "felony drug conviction." In Burgess' appeal to the Court he maintained that since South Carolina considered his first offense a misdemeanor the "prior felony drug conviction" did not apply. The Supreme Court rejected his appeal, holding that "felony" refers to any offense that is punishable for more than a year even if another jurisdiction classifies the offense as a misdemeanor.

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