The Supreme Court has granted certiorari in Barrett v. United States, No. 24-5774, to decide if the Double Jeopardy Clause permits a court to impose separate sentences for an act that violates both 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) and § 924(j). The petition is available here.
Section 924(c)(1)(A) is violated if someone, “during and in relation to any crime of violence or drug trafficking crime . . . , uses or carries a firearm, or [], in furtherance of any such crime, possesses a firearm.” Section 924(j) is violated if someone, “in the course of a violation of subsection (c), causes the death of a person through the use of a firearm.”
Most circuits to address the issue have held that § 924(c) is a lesser included offense of § 924(j), meaning that, under the Double Jeopardy Clause, a defendant may not be constitutionally punished for both offenses. The …