COURT-MARTIAL CONVICTION Serious Violent Felony; ‘Court of the United States’

cassiejohnson//December 14, 2015//

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Where a defendant who was convicted in a court martial proceeding for unpremeditated murder argued that the conviction was not “in a court of the United States or of a state” under Section 3559(c) to constitute a serious violent felony and serve as a predicate offense, under ordinary rules of statutory interpretation courts-martial falls within the definition of “a court of the United States” and inclusion of courts-martial within the definition is consistent with the purpose of the statute, so the judgment is affirmed and the defendant is subject to a mandatory life sentence under the law. Judgment is affirmed.

14-3146 U.S. v. Shaffer, appealed from the Northern District of Iowa, Shepherd, J.

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