Does section 851(e) of the Criminal Code bar a defendant from challenging the validity of prior convictions which will be used to enhance their sentence?

Section 851(e) bars the constitutionally protected opportunity to challenge the validity of prior convictions which will be used to enhance a criminal defendant's sentence which are older than five-years old. To the extent that courts impose harsher sentences based on prior convictions, section 851(e)'s time bar affects the due process and liberty rights of individuals. See id.; United States v. Salerno, 481 U.S. 739, 750-51, 107 S.Ct. 2095, 2103-04, 95 L.Ed.2d 697 (1987). Since section 851(e)'s time-based classification affects such fundamental rights the classification must be justified by a compelling

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