A firearm charge under 18 U.S.C. §924(c)(1)(A) carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years if the firearm is carried, seven years if it is brandished, and 10 years if it is fired. Those sentences often exceed the penalty for the underlying felony itself. “In many cases, the [firearm] charge is the tail wagging the dog,” said John P. Elwood, a partner in the Washington office of Vinson & Elkins and an instructor at the University of Virginia School of Law Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, which is representing the defendant in the case before the court.