No. 23-370October Term 2023Decided Jun 21, 2024
Erlinger v. United States
The Supreme Court held that under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments, a unanimous jury, rather than a judge, must determine beyond a reasonable doubt whether a defendant's prior offenses were committed on separate occasions for the purpose of sentence enhancements under the Armed Career Criminal Act.
Case status
- Current stage
- Decided
- Latest event
- Decision released Jun 21, 2024
- What it's about
The Supreme Court held that under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments, a unanimous jury, rather than a judge, must determine beyond a reasonable doubt whether a defendant's prior offenses were committed on separate occasions for the purpose of sentence enhancements under the Armed Career Criminal Act.
Question presented
Does the Constitution require a jury trial and proof beyond a reasonable doubt to find that a defendant’s prior convictions were “committed on occasions different from one another,” as is necessary to impose an enhanced sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act?
- Case path
United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit / Decision released Jun 21, 2024
- Area
Decided Supreme Court case
Documents
Related cases
Grounding
- Grounding
- Primary-source trail available.
- Note
- Plain-English explainer. Official filings and opinions remain authoritative.
- Checked
- Mar 30, 2026
- Method
- Methodology