Perspective
Jul. 2, 2016
'Just looking at the facts' isn't always enough
Mathis v. United States stands for the proposition that the government always carries the burden of proving that a prior conviction qualifies under the relevant federal generic standard — and that is as it should be. By Evan Tsen Lee
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Mathis v. United States, 2016 DJDAR 6071 (June 23, 2016), is a big victory for the so-called "categorical approach" to prior convictions, which often benefits federal criminal defendants and immigrants facing removal. The categorical approach generally prevents a court from peeking behind the formal conviction in order to figure out what "really" happened. That prohibition usually help...
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