{"argument_date":"2013-01-07T00:00:00Z","arguments":[{"argument_date":"2013-01-07T00:00:00Z","heading":"What happened at the argument","official_detail_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcript/2012","official_transcript_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","paragraphs":["Mr. Johnson argued that the specific facts of the 1978 conviction do not matter.","He stated that only the statutory definition matters for the Armed Career Criminal Act.","Justice Scalia asked if state supreme court statements about weapon types suffice for classification.","Justice Alito questioned whether two different phrasings of an element are substantively equivalent."],"reargument":false,"sequence":1,"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 24, lines 25-9","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 24, lines 25-9"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-7","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-7"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 7-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 7-17"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 27-3","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 27-3"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 9-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 9-17"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 37-47","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 37-47"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 7-13","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 7-13"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 17-29","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 17-29"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 33-33","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 33-33"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 45-3","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 45-3"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 7, lines 17-35","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 7, lines 17-35"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 7, lines 45-19","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 7, lines 45-19"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 43-1","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 43-1"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 15-23","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 9, lines 15-23"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 31-41","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 9, lines 31-41"}]}],"caption":"Descamps v. United States","case_history":[{"changed_at":"2026-08-29T20:06:34.652875Z","explanation":"An official oral-argument transcript was verified.","status":"argued"}],"case_status":"argued","dek":"The dispute centers on whether federal judges may rely on state supreme court interpretations to classify prior convictions under the Armed Career Criminal Act.","dek_sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 24, lines 25-9","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 24, lines 25-9"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-7","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-7"}],"dispositions":[],"latest_court_document_date":"2013-01-07T00:00:00Z","maturity":"official_transcript","official_detail_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcript/2012","official_disposition_urls":[],"official_docket_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/11-9540.html","primary_docket":"11-9540","revisions":[{"correction_note":"Rewritten to the concise citizen-facing editorial standard.","created_at":"2026-08-30T22:29:05.205230Z","maturity":"official_transcript","revision_number":1},{"correction_note":"Migrated to the dated official Court activity contract without model use.","created_at":"2026-09-05T03:22:24Z","maturity":"official_transcript","revision_number":2}],"schema_version":"1.1","sections":[{"heading":"What this case is about","paragraphs":["This case tests the limits of the categorical approach. It asks if federal courts can look beyond the statutory text to state court decisions. The outcome affects how judges count prior offenses for sentencing enhancements."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 24, lines 25-9","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 24, lines 25-9"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-7","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-7"}]},{"heading":"How the case got here","paragraphs":["The Supreme Court heard oral argument in this case on January 7, 2013."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 7-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 7-17"}]},{"heading":"What each side wants","paragraphs":["the side that brought the case wants the Supreme Court to limit federal courts to the statutory text alone.","The government wants the Supreme Court to allow courts to use state court interpretations to define elements."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 24, lines 25-9","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 24, lines 25-9"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-7","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-7"}]},{"heading":"What each side says","paragraphs":["the side that brought the case argues that federal courts must ignore state court opinions when applying the categorical approach.","The government argues that state supreme court interpretations clarify the elements of the underlying state offense."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 24, lines 25-9","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 24, lines 25-9"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-7","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-7"}]},{"heading":"What the justices asked","paragraphs":["Justice Kagan asked if the Ninth Circuit could reimagine any indivisible statute as having divisible elements.","Justice Alito asked if there is a difference between an element and a violation of a possessory interest."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 27-3","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 27-3"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 9-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 9-17"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 37-47","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 37-47"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 7-13","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 7-13"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 17-29","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 17-29"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 33-33","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 33-33"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 45-3","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 45-3"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 7, lines 17-35","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 7, lines 17-35"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 7, lines 45-19","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 7, lines 45-19"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 43-1","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 43-1"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 15-23","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 9, lines 15-23"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 31-41","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 9, lines 31-41"}]},{"heading":"Why it matters","paragraphs":["This case defines the scope of the categorical approach. It determines how federal judges count prior state convictions. The ruling shapes sentencing enhancements for career offenders nationwide."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 24, lines 25-9","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 24, lines 25-9"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-7","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-7"}]},{"heading":"What happens next","paragraphs":["This article currently covers the argument record. Use the official docket link for later case activity."],"sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 7-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 7-17"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 27-3","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 27-3"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 4, lines 9-17","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 4, lines 9-17"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 37-47","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 37-47"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 5, lines 7-13","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 5, lines 7-13"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 17-29","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 17-29"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 33-33","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 33-33"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 6, lines 45-3","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 6, lines 45-3"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 7, lines 17-35","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 7, lines 17-35"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 7, lines 45-19","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 7, lines 45-19"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 8, lines 43-1","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 8, lines 43-1"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 15-23","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 9, lines 15-23"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 9, lines 31-41","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 9, lines 31-41"}]}],"slug":"2012-11-9540-descamps-v-united-states","term":"2012","title":"Can courts use state court opinions to define federal crime elements?","title_sources":[{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 24, lines 25-9","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 24, lines 25-9"},{"evidence_type":"Transcript","label":"Official Supreme Court Transcript — file page 3, lines 19-7","official_url":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2012/11-9540.pdf","page_label":"file page 3, lines 19-7"}],"topics":[],"undated_disposition_date_fallback":null,"updated_at":"2026-09-05T03:22:24Z"}