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
Timing
Decided June 21, 2024
The Court released its decision 86 days after oral argument on March 27, 2024. The median for cases argued in March is 83 days.
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