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Samuel Alex Gann v. United States

IFP petition · United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, No. 19-6287 · judgment September 29, 2020

Certiorari denied · October 4, 2021

Question presented

An essential element of generic “burglary” is that the person formed the specific intent to commit a crime at some point during the commission of the offense. Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575, 598 (1990); Quarles v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 1872, 1879 (2019). Tennessee, like a small handful of other states, has expanded its definition of burglary to omit the element of specific intent. Under this expanded definition, a person may be convicted of burglary when he or she trespasses in a building with no intent to commit a crime and, while there, commits a reckless or negligent crime, never having formed the specific intent to commit a crime at any time. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-402(a)(3). Is a burglary statute that omits the element of specific intent a generic “burglary” for purposes of the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)?

Counsel of record

For petitioner
Jennifer Niles Coffin
Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee, Inc.

For respondent
Brian H. Fletcher
Acting Solicitor General

Case

Conference history
Distributed for 2 conferences

Argument & decision

Decided October 4, 2021.

Proceedings

  1. Oct 04 2021
    Petition DENIED. Statement of Justice Sotomayor respecting the denial of certiorari. (Detached Opinion)
  2. Jul 15 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 9/27/2021.
  3. Jul 12 2021
    Reply of petitioner Samuel Alex Gann filed.
    Main DocumentProof of ServiceCertificate of Word Count
  4. Jun 28 2021
    Brief of respondent United States of America in opposition filed.
    Proof of ServiceMain Document
  5. May 18 2021
    Motion to extend the time to file a response is granted and the time is extended to and including June 28, 2021.
  6. May 17 2021
    Motion to extend the time to file a response from May 27, 2021 to June 28, 2021, submitted to The Clerk.
    Main Document
  7. Apr 27 2021
    Response Requested. (Due May 27, 2021)
  8. Apr 22 2021
    DISTRIBUTED for Conference of 5/13/2021.
  9. Apr 19 2021
    Waiver of right of respondent United States of America to respond filed.
    Main Document
  10. Apr 05 2020
    Petition for a writ of certiorari and motion for leave to proceed in forma pauperis filed. (Response due May 10, 2021)
    Motion for Leave to Proceed in Forma PauperisPetitionAppendixProof of ServiceCertificate of Word Count