18 U.S.C. § 924(c) · A outline

A · Element outline

Labels preserve the recorded AND / OR / EXCEPTION / DEFENSE structure.

Rosemond requires intent to facilitate the entire armed crime. Advance knowledge means time to choose to withdraw; knowledge first acquired when withdrawal is unrealistic does not automatically suffice. This is not a general rule that association with an armed offender establishes liability.

0 merits instance blocks; 0 distinct cases

Recorded DB variant labels, including zero-count variants
Variant	Description	Merits instance blocks	Example cases (up to 3 per group)
affirmative-act/participation-in-predicate-only		0 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 0; excluded context 1	No counted merits examples Excluded context examples: /us/572/0065-01 — Supreme Court of the United States · 2014 — rule-announced/merits
intent/advance-knowledge-of-confederate-gun		0 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 0; excluded context 1	No counted merits examples Excluded context examples: /us/572/0065-01 — Supreme Court of the United States · 2014 — rule-announced/merits
practical-certainty/driver-of-armed-drug-source		0 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 0; excluded context 1	No counted merits examples Excluded context examples: /f3d/640/0412-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit · 2011 — rule-announced/merits
Unspecified variant	No variant assigned in the database.	0 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 0; excluded context 2	No counted merits examples Excluded context examples: /f2d/890/1363-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1989 — applied/merits; /us/572/0065-01 — Supreme Court of the United States · 2014 — rule-announced/dissent

AND Armor-piercing ammunition object
0 merits instance blocks; 0 distinct cases
No variants recorded in this snapshot.
AND Possess the armor-piercing ammunition
0 merits instance blocks; 0 distinct cases
No variants recorded in this snapshot.
AND Use or carry the armor-piercing ammunition
0 merits instance blocks; 0 distinct cases
No variants recorded in this snapshot.

AND Knowingly possess and convey the firearm

3 merits instance blocks; 2 distinct cases

Recorded DB variant labels, including zero-count variants
Variant	Description	Merits instance blocks	Distinct cases	Example cases (up to 3 per group)
on-person/conveyance	Carrying on the person can satisfy the conduct mode.	0 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 0; excluded context 1	0	No counted merits examples Excluded context examples: /us/516/0137-01 — Supreme Court of the United States · 1995 — rule-announced/merits
vehicle/conveyance	Accompanied vehicle can qualify even with the firearm in a locked glove compartment or trunk.	3 Satisfied 3; not satisfied 0; excluded context 2	2	/f2d/890/1363-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1989 — satisfied; /us/524/0125-01 — Supreme Court of the United States · 1998 — satisfied Excluded context examples: /f3d/116/1353-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · 1997 — applied/procedural; /us/524/0125-01 — Supreme Court of the United States · 1998 — applied/dissent

AND During and in relation to the predicate

Both temporal coincidence and a facilitating relationship are required for use/carry. Smith explains at least facilitation or potential facilitation; coincidence alone is insufficient. Apply the corresponding nexus to ammunition under (c)(5).

1 merits instance blocks; 1 distinct cases

Recorded DB variant labels, including zero-count variants
Variant	Description	Merits instance blocks	Distinct cases	Example cases (up to 3 per group)
jury-finding-common-to-both-prongs/gun-in-vehicle-with-drugs-cash-pagers		0 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 0; excluded context 1	0	No counted merits examples Excluded context examples: /f3d/116/1353-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · 1997 — applied/procedural
protection/drugs-or-proceeds		1 Satisfied 1; not satisfied 0; excluded context 0	1	/f2d/890/1363-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1989 — satisfied
weapon-compels-victim/gunpoint-abduction-and-vehicle-taking		0 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 0; excluded context 1	0	No counted merits examples Excluded context examples: /f3d/319/0177-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 2003 — applied/lower-court
Unspecified variant	No variant assigned in the database.	0 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 0; excluded context 3	0	No counted merits examples Excluded context examples: /us/516/0137-01 — Supreme Court of the United States · 1995 — applied/merits; /us/524/0125-01 — Supreme Court of the United States · 1998 — rule-announced/merits; /us/556/0568-01 — Supreme Court of the United States · 2009 — rule-announced/merits

AND Firearm object

0 merits instance blocks; 0 distinct cases

Recorded DB variant labels, including zero-count variants
Variant	Description	Merits instance blocks	Distinct cases	Example cases (up to 3 per group)
Unspecified variant	No variant assigned in the database.	0 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 0; excluded context 4	0	No counted merits examples Excluded context examples: /f2d/890/1363-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1989 — applied/merits; /f3d/116/1353-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · 1997 — applied/merits; /f3d/319/0177-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 2003 — applied/merits

AND Possession advances the specific predicate

Ceballos-Torres affirmed on the combination of accessible loaded weapon, illegal possession, drugs and money. Neither mere presence nor a general assertion that drug dealers use guns suffices.

1 merits instance blocks; 1 distinct cases

Recorded DB variant labels, including zero-count variants
Variant	Description	Merits instance blocks	Distinct cases	Example cases (up to 3 per group)
evidence/context	Fifth Circuit nonexclusive factors: activity type, accessibility, weapon type, stolen status, legality of possession, loaded condition, proximity to drugs/profits, time and circumstances. These are evidentiary considerations, not mandatory independent elements.	0 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 0; excluded context 0	0	No annotation uses in this snapshot
instruction-error/use-carry-nexus-charged-on-possession-count		0 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 0; excluded context 1	0	No counted merits examples Excluded context examples: /f3d/640/0412-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit · 2011 — rule-announced/procedural
protection/drugs-or-proceeds	Loaded, accessible gun protecting drugs or proceeds may support furtherance.	1 Satisfied 1; not satisfied 0; excluded context 0	1	/f3d/640/0412-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit · 2011 — satisfied

EXCEPTION Greater minimum for the same firearm conduct displaces the lower minimum
Abbott, 562 U.S. 8 (2010), construes the (c)(1)(A) proviso. The second text anchor preserves the separate (c)(5) proviso; no independent holding on that ammunition branch is attributed to Abbott.
0 merits instance blocks; 0 distinct cases
No variants recorded in this snapshot.

OR Sentencing consequences after offense proof

These nodes describe consequences; none is a universal extra conjunct in the base claims. The greater-minimum proviso and offense date matter. Mandatory-minimum aggravating facts and weapon type have their own allocation-of-proof doctrine; this catalogue does not replace a sentencing/jury-instruction analysis.

0 merits instance blocks; 0 distinct cases

No variants recorded in this snapshot.

OR Armor-piercing ammunition consequences
Section (c)(5)(B) links resulting death to murder as defined in section 1111 or manslaughter as defined in section 1112, with the respective penalties. Causation and homicide definitions are additional conditions for that consequence; section 924(j) is outside this catalogue.
0 merits instance blocks; 0 distinct cases
No variants recorded in this snapshot.
- AND Fifteen-year minimum before additional death consequences
  Applies without a death finding, subject to the greater-minimum proviso. Murder and manslaughter are alternative additional consequence branches when death results.
  0 merits instance blocks; 0 distinct cases
  No variants recorded in this snapshot.
- AND Resulting death constituting manslaughter
  0 merits instance blocks; 0 distinct cases
  No variants recorded in this snapshot.
- AND Resulting death constituting murder
  0 merits instance blocks; 0 distinct cases
  No variants recorded in this snapshot.
AND Five-year minimum absent applicable higher minimum
0 merits instance blocks; 0 distinct cases
No variants recorded in this snapshot.

AND Seven-year brandishing minimum

0 merits instance blocks; 0 distinct cases

Recorded DB variant labels, including zero-count variants
Variant	Description	Merits instance blocks	Distinct cases	Example cases (up to 3 per group)
Unspecified variant	No variant assigned in the database.	0 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 0; excluded context 1	0	No counted merits examples Excluded context examples: /us/556/0568-01 — Supreme Court of the United States · 2009 — rule-announced/merits

AND Mandatory consecutive imprisonment; no probation
Barrett (January 14, 2026) bars two convictions under (c)(1)(A)(i) and (j) for the same act. Section (c) consecutive sentencing must not be exported to a section (j) conviction, which has its own penalty scheme.
0 merits instance blocks; 0 distinct cases
No variants recorded in this snapshot.

AND Ten-year discharge minimum

Dean construes discharge mens rea; Alleyne separately controls jury proof of the discharge fact. Dean's pre-Alleyne procedural assumptions do not displace that later constitutional rule.

1 merits instance blocks; 1 distinct cases

Recorded DB variant labels, including zero-count variants
Variant	Description	Merits instance blocks	Distinct cases	Example cases (up to 3 per group)
discharge/accidental-during-robbery		1 Satisfied 1; not satisfied 0; excluded context 1	1	/us/556/0568-01 — Supreme Court of the United States · 2009 — satisfied Excluded context examples: /us/556/0568-01 — Supreme Court of the United States · 2009 — applied/dissent

AND Later offense after final prior section 924(c) conviction
The current final-prior-conviction text prevents treating another count in the same initial prosecution as a qualifying final prior. Historical pre-First-Step-Act decisions require offense/sentencing-date analysis.
0 merits instance blocks; 0 distinct cases
No variants recorded in this snapshot.
OR Special firearm types
Section (c)(1)(B)(i) separately provides a ten-year minimum for short-barreled rifles/shotguns. The source also retains semiautomatic assault weapon wording tied to the 1994 amendment termination note; do not activate that historical category without an effective-date analysis.
0 merits instance blocks; 0 distinct cases
No variants recorded in this snapshot.

AND Knowing actual or constructive possession

Possession can be actual or constructive under applicable circuit law; a defendant must knowingly exercise the requisite control, rather than merely happen to be near a gun. The furtherance element is additional, not a substitute for possession.

1 merits instance blocks; 1 distinct cases

Recorded DB variant labels, including zero-count variants
Variant	Description	Merits instance blocks	Distinct cases	Example cases (up to 3 per group)
instruction-error/use-or-carry-charged-instead-of-possession		0 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 0; excluded context 1	0	No counted merits examples Excluded context examples: /f3d/640/0412-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit · 2011 — rule-announced/procedural
proximity-plus-matching-ammunition/gun-in-door-pocket-beside-passenger		1 Satisfied 1; not satisfied 0; excluded context 0	1	/f3d/640/0412-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit · 2011 — satisfied

OR Qualifying federal predicate offense

Government must establish commission of a qualifying crime; legal qualification is distinct from proving the crime facts. The alternatives are the drug-felony definition in (c)(2) and the surviving elements clause in (c)(3)(A). The invalid residual clause is not an alternative.

0 merits instance blocks; 0 distinct cases

No variants recorded in this snapshot.

AND Enumerated federal drug felony

1 merits instance blocks; 1 distinct cases

Recorded DB variant labels, including zero-count variants
Variant	Description	Merits instance blocks	Distinct cases	Example cases (up to 3 per group)
csa/felony	Includes a qualifying section 841 offense or section 846 attempt/conspiracy; proof must satisfy the selected predicate's own elements.	1 Satisfied 1; not satisfied 0; excluded context 2	1	/f3d/640/0412-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit · 2011 — satisfied Excluded context examples: /f2d/890/1363-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1989 — applied/lower-court; /f3d/116/1353-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · 1997 — applied/lower-court
csa/state-felony-but-federal-misdemeanor-possession		0 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 0; excluded context 2	0	No counted merits examples Excluded context examples: /us/549/0047-01 — Supreme Court of the United States · 2006 — comparator/dissent, comparator/merits
import-export/felony	Felony punishable under the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act.	0 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 0; excluded context 0	0	No annotation uses in this snapshot
maritime/felony	Felony punishable under title 46 chapter 705.	0 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 0; excluded context 0	0	No annotation uses in this snapshot
Unspecified variant	No variant assigned in the database.	0 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 0; excluded context 2	0	No counted merits examples Excluded context examples: /us/516/0137-01 — Supreme Court of the United States · 1995 — applied/merits; /us/572/0065-01 — Supreme Court of the United States · 2014 — rule-announced/merits

AND Felony with the required force element

Delligatti, 604 U.S. 423 (2025), reaffirms the categorical method and holds that deliberate injury or death can involve force even by omission of a legal duty. Taylor does not exclude every attempt offense; compare attempted murder. Davis invalidates (c)(3)(B). Taylor, 596 U.S. 845 (2022), requires the categorical elements inquiry and holds attempted Hobbs Act robbery does not qualify; actual violent facts cannot repair a missing statutory force element. These rulings do not erase the separate drug-trafficking alternative. Official opinions and local-IR availability are recorded in NOTES.

1 merits instance blocks; 1 distinct cases

Recorded DB variant labels, including zero-count variants
Variant	Description	Merits instance blocks	Distinct cases	Example cases (up to 3 per group)
asserted-without-analysis/kidnaping-and-carjacking		1 Satisfied 1; not satisfied 0; excluded context 0	1	/f3d/319/0177-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 2003 — satisfied
borrowed-definition/felon-in-possession-for-early-release-eligibility		0 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 0; excluded context 1	0	No counted merits examples Excluded context examples: /f-supp/966/0483-01 — United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky · 1997 — comparator/merits

AND Active employment of a firearm

Bailey predates the 1998 possession amendment. Its active-employment rule still defines use; it does not immunize possession in furtherance. Watson decides use only and expressly leaves the possession theory open.

5 merits instance blocks; 4 distinct cases

Recorded DB variant labels, including zero-count variants
Variant	Description	Merits instance blocks	Distinct cases	Example cases (up to 3 per group)
accessibility-without-active-employment/gun-under-seat-of-drug-vehicle		1 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 1; excluded context 0	1	/f3d/116/1353-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit · 1997 — not
active/weapon	Brandishing, displaying, striking with, firing or attempting to fire the firearm; a calculated reference can constitute active employment.	1 Satisfied 1; not satisfied 0; excluded context 2	1	/f3d/319/0177-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 2003 — satisfied Excluded context examples: /us/516/0137-01 — Supreme Court of the United States · 1995 — rule-announced/merits; /us/556/0568-01 — Supreme Court of the United States · 2009 — applied/lower-court
barter/gun-for-drugs	Giving the gun as consideration for drugs is use under Smith.	0 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 0; excluded context 0	0	No annotation uses in this snapshot
possession-as-facilitation/loaded-gun-within-reach-in-drug-vehicle		1 Satisfied 1; not satisfied 0; excluded context 0	1	/f2d/890/1363-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 1989 — satisfied
storage/gun-in-bag-in-locked-car-trunk		1 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 1; excluded context 0	1	/us/516/0137-01 — Supreme Court of the United States · 1995 — not
storage/unloaded-gun-locked-in-closet-trunk-with-drugs		1 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 1; excluded context 0	1	/us/516/0137-01 — Supreme Court of the United States · 1995 — not
unit-of-prosecution/single-use-single-gun-two-predicates		0 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 0; excluded context 1	0	No counted merits examples Excluded context examples: /f3d/319/0177-01 — United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · 2003 — applied/procedural
Unspecified variant	No variant assigned in the database.	0 Satisfied 0; not satisfied 0; excluded context 1	0	No counted merits examples Excluded context examples: /us/572/0065-01 — Supreme Court of the United States · 2014 — rule-announced/merits

Claim structure

Expression key: & = AND; | = OR; ! = exclusion / negation. Parentheses preserve grouping.

18usc924:924(c)-use-or-carry

predicate & firearm & (use | carry) & during-relation

Section 924(c)(1)(A) requires a qualifying predicate, knowing firearm conduct and the during-and-in-relation-to nexus. Use and carry are alternative conduct modes. Penalty facts are not cumulative prerequisites to the five-year base offense.

18usc924:924(c)-possession

predicate & firearm & possession & furtherance

Independent possession mode uses in-furtherance-of, not merely during-and-in-relation-to. A gun near drugs is not enough by itself; evidence must link possession to advancement of the predicate.

18usc924:924(c)-armor-use-or-carry

predicate & armor-ammunition & armor-use-carry & during-relation

Section 924(c)(5) separately addresses armor-piercing ammunition; do not treat ordinary ammunition alone as a firearm under (c)(1). The statutory fifteen-year and death-result consequences are separate from base liability. Research emphasis is (c)(1)-(4).

18usc924:924(c)-armor-possession

predicate & armor-ammunition & armor-possession & furtherance

Section 924(c)(5) possession likewise requires the furtherance nexus. No independent corpus opinion interpreting this ammunition branch is claimed.

18usc924:924(c)-aiding-use-or-carry

predicate & firearm & (use | carry) & during-relation & accomplice

Section 2 attribution route: the use/carry conduct and nexus are proved for the armed principal; accomplice addresses this defendant's active participation and advance knowledge under Rosemond. The formula does not require personal firearm handling by the accomplice. It does not silently extend Rosemond to every possession, Pinkerton, or armor-ammunition theory.

Constraints

Facts increasing a mandatory minimum require the constitutionally prescribed element proof

Alleyne, 570 U.S. 99, 103, 111-12 (2013), supplies a judicial constitutional rule, subject to a valid admission or jury waiver. These are elements of the aggravated offense, though not universal requirements of the five-year base offense. This constraint does not decide the distinct prior-conviction exception or every weapon-type mens rea issue.

Apply the governing higher minimum instead of cumulating lower tiers for the same firearm violation

The statutory proviso changes the applicable punishment, not base liability. Its presence is therefore modeled at the penalty node instead of negating the offense claims.