No. 20-5279October Term 2020Decided Mar 7, 2022Updated May 24, 2026
Wooden v. United States
This case asked whether William Wooden’s 10 burglary convictions, all arising from one night of breaking into multiple units in a single storage facility, counted as separate crimes for a federal sentencing enhancement under the Armed Career Criminal Act.
Case status
Decided 9-0 · March 7, 2022 · Opinion by Justice Kagan
Read the opinion (PDF)- Current stage
- Decided
- Latest event
- Decision released Mar 7, 2022
- What it's about
This case asked whether William Wooden’s 10 burglary convictions, all arising from one night of breaking into multiple units in a single storage facility, counted as separate crimes for a federal sentencing enhancement under the Armed Career Criminal Act. The Supreme Court held that crimes committed during one continuous criminal episode like Wooden’s were not committed on different "occasions" and therefore counted only once under ACCA.
Question presented
DID THE SIXTH CIRCUIT ERR BY EXPANDING THE SCOPE OF 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1) IN THE ABSENCE OF CLEAR STATUTORY DEFINITION WITH REGARD TO THE VAGUE TERM "COMMITTED ON OCCASIONS DIFFERENT FROM ONE ANOTHER”?
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit / Decision released Mar 7, 2022
- Area
Criminal Procedure
Timing
Decided March 7, 2022
The Court released its decision on March 7, 2022 without hearing oral argument.
Documents
Activity
Docket activity3
Brief added: Questions Presented
May 24, 2026 | Court records
Opinion added: opinion
Mar 7, 2022 | Court records
Brief added: Petition
Jul 24, 2020 | Court records
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Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary-source trail available.
- Note
- Plain-English explainer. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Jul 25, 2026
- Method
- Methodology