Supreme Court to hear Navajo man's appeal
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Filed Under:
Law
The U.S. Supreme Court today will hear oral arguments today in the case of a Navajo man whose sentence was more than tripled under a violent crime law.
Larry Begay of New Mexico pleaded guilty to threatening two female family members with a gun. He would have received about four years in prison for his crime.
But under the Armed Career Criminal Act, his sentence was boosted to a minimum of 15 years due to his prior drunken driving convictions. He was considered a violent felon.
Begay argues that drunk driving doesn't meet the definition of a "violent felony" under the law.
The Department of Justice says Begay is reading the law too narrowly [
SCOTUS Blog: Case Preview].
The Supreme Court will post a transcript of the hearing after today's proceedings.
Relevant Links:
Supreme Court -
http://www.supremecourtus.govNARF-NCAI
Tribal Supreme Court Project -
http://doc.narf.org/sc/index.html
SCOTUS Blog -
http://www.scotusblog.com
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