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Simple English definitions for legal terms
Armed Career Criminal Act (1984)
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A quick definition of Armed Career Criminal Act (1984):
The Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) is a law that says if someone has been convicted of at least three violent crimes or serious drug offenses and they are caught with a gun, they will go to jail for at least 15 years. The law was made to stop people who keep committing crimes from having guns. The law doesn't care how long ago the crimes happened, but they have to be serious. The law has some parts that were found to be unfair and can't be used anymore.
A more thorough explanation:
The Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) is a law that was passed in 1984. It says that if someone has been convicted of at least three violent felonies or serious drug offenses and they are caught with a firearm, they will be sentenced to a minimum of 15 years in prison. The purpose of this law is to punish people who continue to commit crimes even after being convicted multiple times.
For example, if someone has been convicted of armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, and drug trafficking, and they are caught with a gun, they will be subject to the minimum sentence requirement of the ACCA.
However, the ACCA has been controversial because some parts of it have been ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The "residual clause" of the act, which gave judges a lot of discretion in deciding what counts as a violent felony, was deemed too vague and is no longer enforceable.