US v. Sitton: Sitton pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. The probation officer recommended an increased base offense level due to a prior conviction for assault and battery in South Carolina for which Sitton was sentenced pursuant to the state’s Youthful Offender Act (“YOA”). Without objection, the district court adopted the recommendation and sentenced Sitton accordingly.
On appeal, the Fourth Circuit affirmed the district court’s sentence, applying plain error review but concluded there was no error in the first place. Noting that the Guideline enhancement applies only based on a prior “adult conviction,” the court looked to a South Carolina supreme court decision which distinguished between a YOA sentence imposed in a “general sessions court” (i.e., regular adult court) and one arising from a case “handled as a juvenile adjudication in family court.” The former was an adult conviction, the later a juvenile conviction. Because Sitton’s sentence was imposed in the general sessions court it was an adult conviction and the Guideline enhancement was properly applied.
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