20-year-old, Dismissed Juvenile Adjudication Upheld as ACCA Predicate

U.S. v. Rich, -- F.3d --, 2013 WL 491548 (10th Cir. 2/11/13) (OK) - affirmance of ACCA sentence. Despite entry of a dismissal order in a juvenile delinquency case from twenty years before -- after Mr. Rich had been adjudicated a delinquent for conduct that would have constituted robbery with a dangerous weapon if committed by an adult -- the adjudication was properly used as a predicate prior violent felony for ACCA purposes. The state court's order of "dismissal" did not constitute expungement or setting aside of the conviction for ACCA purposes. It merely meant the court was terminating its jurisdiction. The ACCA defines a conviction to include a finding that a person has committed an act of juvenile delinquency involving a violent felony. It did not violate substantive due process to use a 20-year old delinquency adjudication as a predicate offense.