Adams: 10-year window of prior criminal conviction

In U.S. v. Adams, No. 03-15111 (March 23, 2005), the Court (Marcus, Fay, Siler b.d.) held that a prior conviction was within the 10-year window of USSG § 4A1.2(e)(2) for purposes of assessing a criminal history point, even though the prior conviction was based on an offense which occurred more than 10 years before the commencement of the offense of conviction. The Court noted that the Guidelines provide that the 10 year window goes back to the date of sentencing, not the date of the offense. Further, it did not matter that the sentencing was postponed because of a court backlog. The plain language of the Guideline did not recognize such an exception.