Eighth Circuit Finds that Arkansas Conviction for Aggravated Assault and South Carolina Conviction for Pointing a Firearm at Another Person are Crimes of Violence

The Eighth Circuit has determined that an Arkansas conviction for aggravated assault and a South Carolina conviction for pointing a firearm at another person are both crimes of violence for federal sentencing purposes. With respect to the Arkansas aggravated assault conviction, the court held that the statute is divisible, and subsection (a)(1) is not a crime of violence. However, subsection (a)(2), which criminalizes displaying a firearm in such a manner that creates a substantial danger of death or serious physical injury to another person, necessarily involves the threatened use of violent force. With respect to the South Carolina firearms conviction, the court deferred to prior precedent finding that that pointing a gun at another person qualifies as a crime of violence.

The full text of United States v. Hataway can be found here:

https://ecf.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/19/08/181953P.pdf

Third Circuit Finds South Carolina Conviction for Accessory after the Fact is not an Obstruction of Justice Aggravated Felony

The Third Circuit has determined that a South Carolina conviction for accessory after the fact does not qualify as an obstruction of justice aggravated felony.  In South Carolina, accessory after the fact occurs where the defendant, knowing that a principal has committed a felony, “harbor[s] or assist[s] the principal felon . . . for the purpose of enabling the principal felon to escape detection or arrest.”  The court noted that this offense focused not on a defendant’s intent and actions regarding a particular judicial proceeding, but on the principal of a crime.  Because "there are infinite actions a defendant may undertake with the intent to aid the principal after the commission of a crime, but before the commencement of judicial proceedings," there is no causal nexus between the South Carolina statute and the federal conceptions of obstruction of justice.  

The full text of Flores v. Attorney General can be found here:

http://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/161979p.pdf

Eighth Circuit Finds that South Carolina Conviction for Pointing Firearm at Another is an Aggravated Felony

The Eighth Circuit has determined that a conviction under South Carolina Code § 16-23-410 (pointing a firearm at another) requires the “threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another," and thus, qualifies as a crime of violence under 18 USC § 16(a).  The court recognized that the Ninth Circuit has recently determined that 18 USC § 16(b) is unconstitutionally vague, but declined to address the issue in the instant case.

The full text of Reyes-Soto v. Lynch can be found here: http://media.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/15/12/143797P.pdf