[1] Keith Lavon Burgess was convicted in a South Carolina state court for cocaine possession.

[2] Although the maximum sentence under state law was two years, South Carolina classified the offense as a misdemeanor, rather than a felony.

[3] At a later proceeding, Burgess pleaded guilty for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of cocaine in Federal Court.

"[5] In Burgess' appeal to the Court he maintained that since South Carolina considered his first offense a misdemeanor, the "prior felony drug conviction" did not apply.

[6] In a unanimous opinion written by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Supreme Court rejected Burgess' appeal, holding that "felony" refers to any offense that is punishable for more than a year even if another jurisdiction classifies the offense as a misdemeanor.