ACCA Sentencing Challenge Playbook: Johnson and Beyond

## Overview The Armed Career Criminal Act (18 U.S.C. § 924(e)) imposes a mandatory minimum 15-year sentence. After Johnson v. United States (2015), many sentences can be challenged. ## Step 1: Identify Qualifying Priors - ACCA requires three "violent felonies" or "serious drug offenses" - Residual clause void after Johnson - Apply categorical approach (Taylor) ## Step 2: Analyze Each Conviction - Obtain certified copies - Review statute of conviction - Check if divisible (Descamps/Mathis) - Compare to federal generic definition ## Step 3: File the Challenge - Direct appeal: sentencing error - Post-conviction: § 2255 motion - One year from newly recognized right ## Key Cases - Johnson v. United States (2015) - Welch v. United States (2016) - Sessions v. Dimaya (2018) - Borden v. United States (2021) - United States v. Taylor (2022)