Anthony Lee Daniels v. United States

This case presents an important and recurring criminal-law question dating from Washington v. Recuenco, 548 U.S. 212 (2006). In Recuenco, the Court held that a “judicial factfinding” error under Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000), was not “structural,” meaning that it was subject to harmless-error review. Id. at 220 n.3; see id. at 218-222. This Court’s continued silence on the nature of that harmless-error review has led to an entrenched four-way circuit conflict on the nature of harmless-error review in this context. This case squarely presents this long-simmering issue. The question presented is: What showing must the Government make to carry its harmless-error burden on an acknowledged error under Erlinger v. United States, 602 U.S. 821 (2024)?