In U.S. v. Rahim, No. 05-11087 (Nov. 29, 2005), the Court upheld two convictions for 924(c) violations arising out of a bank robbery and a subsequent carjacking in an attempt to escape from the bank robbery. The Court rejected the argument that a single 924(c) conviction was possible, because the robbery and the carjacking were part of a single course of conduct. The Court sided with other circuits to have considered the issue in rejecting this interpretation of § 924(c). The Court also rejected a Double Jeopardy challenge to the twin convictions, pointing out that each § 924(c) conviction involved a fact which the other did not (one involved use of a firearm during a bank robbery, the other during a carjacking), and therefore satisfied the test of Blockburger v. U.S., 284 U.S. 299 (1932).
Finally, the Court rejected the argument that the defendant was incompetent at sentencing, agreeing with the district court that the defendant was faking mental incompetence to avoid being sentenced.
