In U.S. v. Lyons, No. 03-15073 (March 23, 2005), the Court affirmed the conviction and sentence of a defendant convicted of possession of four Remington .22 caliber bullets, in violation of 18 U.S.C. sections §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(e), and sentenced to 235 months’ incarceration as an armed career offender pursuant to USSG § 4B1.4(b).
The Court rejected the argument that there was no probable cause for the search of Lyons which uncovered the four bullets, because he searched for his "disorderly conduct," and was ultimately acquitted of this charge. The Court noted that the acquittal does not affect the inquiry into whether the police had probable cause to arrest. Here, under the circumstances – Lyons’ unruly conduct while the police were trying to control an unruly Ft. Myers crowd – the police had probable cause to arrest him for disorderly conduct in violation of Fla. Stat. § 877.03.
The Court also rejected the argument that Lyons should have been to introduce evidence of his acquittal for disorderly conduct in order to show the bias of the police officer who testified against him at the federal trial on ammunition possession. The Court found that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in holding this evidence "irrelevant."
Finally, the Court rejected the claim that the 235-month sentence violated the Eighth Amendment prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. The Court noted that Lyons’ recidivism justified his classification as an armed career criminal, and the corresponding level VI criminal history category and heightened offense level. "The length of his sentence was the result of his extensive criminal history and it is well-settled that a longer sentence may be imposed on a recidivist, based on his criminal history, even if the offense of conviction is relatively minor in nature."
