Plea Withdrawal – ACCA Violation

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Albert E. Dowthard

Case No.: 18-2088

Officials: RIPPLE, SYKES, and ST. EVE, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Plea Withdrawal – ACCA Violation

Albert Dowthard pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). Because of his prior state convictions, he was sentenced under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) to 186 months in prison. See id. § 924(e). Although he raised no such argument in the district court, he now contends that Rehaif v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 2191 (2019), invalidates his plea because he was not informed that knowledge of his status as a previously convicted felon was an element of his § 922(g) charge. Alternatively, he disputes his classification as an Armed Career Criminal, arguing that two of the four prior offenses used to sentence him do not qualify as violent felonies.

Dowthard has the burden of showing that a misunderstanding of the elements of his offense affected his substantial rights, yet he does not even assert that he would not have pleaded guilty if he had properly understood the elements. Thus, he has failed to carry that burden. And his prior Illinois conviction for attempted aggravated domestic battery has as an element the attempted use of physical force and therefore counts as a “violent felony” under the ACCA. With that conviction and the two he does not challenge, he has the three necessary predicates for an enhanced sentenced under § 924(e). Accordingly, we affirm both his conviction and his sentence.

Affirmed

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.