So many criminal history stories in the naked city
As detailed in some of the posts linked below, the imposition of long sentences often turn on the vicissitudes of criminal history. Another case proving this reality comes today from the Seventh Circuit’s decision in US v. Sperberg, No. 04-4135 (7th Cir. Dec. 19, 2005) (available here).
In Sperberg, the defendant received a sentence of 17.5 years for being a felon in possession of a firearm “because the district judge concluded that he had been convicted of at least three other ‘violent felonies'” (which formally turned the defendant into an “armed career criminal”). But, as explained by the Seventh Circuit’s opinion, those violent felonies included an incident of drunk driving and an incident involving the threatening a security guard while stealing lobster tails from a grocery store.
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