# United States v. Kebrae Brown

> Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · October 21, 2011 · 451 F. App'x 315

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/615859

## Case

- **Full name:** UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Kebrae Odero BROWN, Defendant-Appellant
- **Court:** Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- **Decided:** October 21, 2011
- **Citations:** 451 F. App'x 315
- **Precedential status:** Unpublished
- **Opinion:** Opinion
- **Judges:** Duncan, Keenan, Diaz
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

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## Opinion text

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 11-4267

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

v.

KEBRAE ODERO BROWN,

Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of North Carolina, at Raleigh. James C. Dever III,
District Judge. (2:10-cr-00019-D-1)

Submitted: September 30, 2011 Decided: October 21, 2011

Before DUNCAN, KEENAN, and DIAZ, Circuit Judges.

Reversed and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Stephen Clayton Gordon, Assistant Federal Public Defender,
Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellant. Jennifer P. May-Parker,
Assistant United States Attorney, Raleigh, North Carolina, for
Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:

Kebrae Odero Brown pled guilty to possessing a firearm

after having been convicted of a crime punishable by

imprisonment for a term exceeding one year in violation of 18

U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) (2006), reserving his right to appeal the

issue of whether his prior state convictions were punishable by

more than one year of imprisonment. The offenses in question

were prior North Carolina convictions for possession of burglary

tools and attempted breaking and entering; for each of these

offenses Brown faced a maximum possible sentence of ten months

under North Carolina law.

Brown appealed, arguing that neither of his prior

convictions was “punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding

one year” under the Supreme Court’s decision in Carrachuri-

Rosendo v. Holder, 130 S. Ct. 2577 (2010). We recently held

that, when deciding whether a North Carolina conviction is a

predicate offense for sentencing enhancement purposes, the

Controlled Substance Act’s inclusion of offenses “punishable by

imprisonment for more than one year” refers to the maximum

sentence that the defendant in question could have received, not

the sentence that could have been imposed on a defendant with a

more severe criminal history or one subject to an aggravated

sentence. United States v. Simmons, 649 F.3d 237, 241 (4th Cir.

2011) (en banc). Thus, because neither of Brown’s underlying

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North Carolina convictions was punishable by a term exceeding

one year, Brown’s conduct that formed the basis for his federal

conviction — possessing a firearm — did not violate § 922(g).

Accordingly, we reverse Brown’s conviction and remand

for further proceedings. ∗ The clerk is directed to issue the

mandate forthwith. We dispense with oral argument because the

facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the

materials before the court and argument would not aid the

decisional process.

REVERSED AND REMANDED

∗
This disposition conveys no criticism of either the
Government or the district court, both of which dutifully
applied circuit precedent at the time of Brown’s prosecution and
sentencing that was later reversed by Simmons. See United
States v. Harp, 406 F.3d 242 (4th Cir. 2005).

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/615859. Public record. Not legal advice.