And it is a federal crime to violate the ACA. See United States v. Sharpnack, 355 U.S. 286, 289-92 (1958); United States v. Press Publishing Co., 219 U.S. 1, 10 (1911); United States v. Harris, 27 F.3d 111, 115 (4th Cir. 1994). The defendants argue that Section(s) 924(c)'s legislative history supports their claim that Congress clearly intended to prohibit punishment under both the ACA and Section(s) 924(c).
Moreover, such a maximum is within the punishment range Massachusetts prescribes for the charge of Operating Under the Influence, and therefore conforms to the ACA. See United States v. Harris, 27 F.3d 111, 116 (4th Cir. 1994) ("Section 13(a) directs the court to determine the punishment the state prescribes for the assimilated offense and then impose 'like punishment.'"); United States v. Clark, 361 F.Supp. 2d 502, 507 (E.D. Va. 2005) (assimilated state statutes demarcate the lower and upper bounds of a sentence).