SCOTUS Okays Piling on Mandatory Minimums — In the Name of Proportionality?
Yesterday, the Supreme Court held in Abbott v. United States that the five-year mandatory minimum prescribed by 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) must be imposed consecutively to other mandatory minimums imposed pursuant to other statutes. The 924(c) mandatory minimum targets defendants who have used, carried, or possessed a firearm in connection with a crime of violence or a drug trafficking crime.
The defendants in Abbott illustrate how the same conduct that triggers 924(c) can also trigger other mandatory minimums.