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Fractured Supreme Court Rules Reckless Crimes Don’t Make a Career Offender

Fractured Supreme Court Rules Reckless Crimes Don’t Make a Career Offender
The Supreme Court in Washington, on Nov. 4, 2020. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
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A divided Supreme Court sided with a criminal defendant, ruling that a federal law that imposes strict mandatory penalties on federal gun offenders with three prior violent convictions can’t be invoked in crimes that require a reckless mental state.

The 5–4 ruling in the mandatory minimum sentences case known as Borden v. U.S. came on June 10.