500
Souter, J., dissenting
today. In the legal environment of the ACCA's enactment, Burgett and Tucker were thought to stand for the broader proposition that "[n]o consideration can be given [at sentencing] to a conviction that was unconstitutionally obtained," 3 C. Wright, Federal Practice and Procedure § 526, p. 102 (1982), and Courts of Appeals consistently read the decisions as requiring courts to entertain claims that prior convictions relied upon for enhancement were unconstitutional for reasons other than Gideon violations.3 The Congress that enacted the ACCA against this backdrop must be presumed to have intended to permit defendants to attempt to show at sentencing that prior convictions were "unconstitutionally obtained."
That presumption is strongly bolstered by the fact that Congress, despite the consistent interpretation of the ACCA as permitting attacks on prior convictions during sentencing, and despite amending the law several times since its enactment (see note following 18 U. S. C. § 924 (1988 ed. and Supp. V) (listing amendments)), left the language relevant here untouched. Congress's failure to express legislative disagreement with the appellate courts' reading of the ACCA cannot be disregarded, especially since Congress has acted in this area in response to other Courts of Appeals decisions that it thought revealed statutory flaws requiring "correct[ion]." S. Rep. No. 98-583, p. 7, and n. 17 (1984); see id., at 8, and n. 18, 14, and n. 31; see also Herman & MacLean v. Huddleston, 459 U. S. 375, 385-386 (1983) ("In light of [a] well-established judicial interpretation [of a statutory provision], Congress' decision to leave [the provision] intact suggests that Congress
3 See, e. g., United States v. Mancusi, 442 F. 2d 561 (CA2 1971) (Confrontation Clause); Jefferson v. United States, 488 F. 2d 391, 393 (CA5 1974) (self-incrimination); United States v. Martinez, 413 F. 2d 61 (CA7 1969) (unknowing and involuntary guilty plea); Taylor v. United States, 472 F. 2d 1178, 1179-1180 (CA8 1973) (self-incrimination); Brown v. United States, 610 F. 2d 672, 674-675 (CA9 1980) (ineffective assistance of counsel); Martinez v. United States, 464 F. 2d 1289 (CA10 1972) (self-incrimination).
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