Supreme Court rules defendants convicted in gun crimes can serve concurrent sentences

Supreme Court ruling overview:

• Who: The United States Supreme Court ruled on Efrain Lora appeal of a district court ruling.
• Why: Lora claimed that the district court had the discretion to run his two gun-crime convictions at the same time rather than consecutively.
• Where: The ruling came from the United States Supreme Court.

Courts have the discretion to have defendants serve sentences for certain gun crime convictions either at the same time or consecutively, according to a ruling from The United States Supreme Court.

Efrain Lora was convicted by a jury of a pair of gun crimes that fell into different categories of federal sentencing requirements. One of the convictions, for a drug-distribution conspiracy charge under a section of gun crimes that requires mandatory sentences that are run consecutively.

A second conviction, for “aiding and abetting a violation” that “causes the death of a person through the use of a firearm,” where “the killing is a murder” fell under a separate subsection of code on gun crimes.

Lora was convicted on both counts and sentenced to 25 years for the drug-distribution conspiracy and, consecutively, five years for the second conviction along with five years of supervised release. The court ruled that, since one conviction came under a separate section of code, the court had discretion to run the terms at the same time or consecutively.

“A sentence imposed under subsection (j) does not qualify,” said the Supreme Court ruling written by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. “To state the obvious again, subsection (j) is not located within subsection (c). Nor does subsection (j) call for imposing any sentence from subsection (c). Instead, subsection (j) provides its own set of penalties.”

Lora was convicted of being part of a drug-dealing group who assassinated a rival drug dealer, Supreme Court ruling says

Lora was accused and convicted of being part of a drug-dealing group from the Bronx that assassinated a rival drug dealer in 2002. He was accused of being a leader of the group and acting as a scout in the fatal shooting.

A Virginia federal judge ruled that federal laws preventing those ages 18 through 20 from purchasing handguns from federally licensed firearms dealers is unconstitutional.

Do you believe all gun crimes should be sentenced consecutively? Let us know in the comments.

The gun crimes ruling is Lora v. United States, Ruling No. 22-49, from the U.S. Supreme Court.

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