What Version of the Federal Controlled Substances Act Schedules Does ACCA's "Serious Drug Offense" Definition Incorporate?

Petitioners Justin Brown and Eugene Jackson each pleaded guilty in separate proceedings to possessing a firearm following a felony conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). Brown plead in the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Jackson in the Southern District of Florida. Both were sentenced under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), which imposes a 15-year mandatory minimum for violations of Section 922(g) for defendants with three prior convictions for a “violent felony” and/or “serious drug offense.” Each sentence was based, in part, on the court’s determination that the relevant petitioner had prior state convictions for a “serious drug offense.” At the time of their prior state offenses, the relevant substances covered by their respective state laws were also “controlled substances” under the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA). However, the federal government later removed some of those substances from the CSA. In Brown’s case, the Third Circuit affirmed his ACCA sentence, holding that courts should consider the federal CSA schedules in effect at the time of the federal offense, not the time of federal sentencing. In contrast, the Eleventh Circuit affirmed Jackson’s ACCA sentence, holding that ACCA incorporates the CSA schedules that were in effect at the time of the prior state conviction. The Court consolidated these cases and will now decide which version of the federal CSA’s schedules a court should consult when applying ACCA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]