These summaries are not intended as legal advice. Please contact a licensed attorney to discuss the specifics of your case.
Viewing entries tagged
crime of violence
The Ninth Circuit has determined that. Nevada conviction for felony battery resulting in substantial bodily harm is a crime of violence.
The full text of Villagomez v. McHenry can be found here:
https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2025/01/24/23-3558.pdf
The Ninth Circuit has determined that a California conviction for assault with a deadly weapon is not a crime of violence because it includes reckless use of force. In so doing, the Court recognized that the Supreme Court’s decision in Borden states that a crime is not a crime of violence if it encompasses a mens rea in which the defendant acts deliberately, but consciously disregards an unjustifiable—though not practically certain— risk.”
The rationale of the decision should be equally applicable to assault with force likely to produce great bodily injury, assault with a firearm, and assault on a police officer or firefighter.
The full text of US v. Gomez can be found here:
https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2024/09/04/23-435.pdf
The Ninth Circuit has determined that has a California conviction for carjacking is not a crime of violence aggravated felony. “On a plain reading, section 215 defines carjacking more broadly than section 16(a) by not requiring the use of force.” The court further concluded that the use of fear required by the statute does not necessarily include the use of force. The court additionally concluded that the statute requires only a reckless mens rea, which is less than is necessary to match the definition of a crime of violence. “In sum, section 215 criminalizes carjacking committed through fear and without the use of force, as well as carjacking committed through the unintentional use of force.” The court further determined the statute is not divisible.
The full of Gutierrez v. Garland can be found here: https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2024/07/02/21-130.pdf
The Eighth Circuit has determined that an Iowa domestic abuse conviction is not a crime of violence because it criminalizes simple assault.
The full text of US v. Daye can be found here:
http://media.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/24/01/231048P.pdf
The Eighth Circuit has affirmed that a federal conviction for voluntary manslaughter qualifies as a crime of violence because the mens rea of “depraved heart” or “extreme recklessness” is sufficient to establish a use of force against the person of another.
The full text of Brewer v. US can be found here:
The Ninth Circuit has determined that a Washington misdemeanor conviction for harassment qualifies as a crime of violence because it involves the threatened or actual use of force.
The full text of Rodriguez-Hernandez v. Garland can be found here:
https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2023/12/27/21-456.pdf
The Fifth Circuit has determined that a Texas conviction for aggravated sexual assault with a deadly weapon is a crime of violence because it requires the use or attempted use of physical force.
The full text of Delgado-Victorio v. Garland can be found here: https://www.ca5.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/23/23-60102-CV0.pdf
The Seventh Circuit has determined that a Kentucky conviction for complicity to robbery in the first degree is a crime of violence. In so doing, the court concluded that Kentucky’s complicity statute is a categorical match for generic aiding-and-abetting liability; that Kentucky’s first-degree robbery statute requires sufficient force to overcome the victim’s will; and that the robbery statute requires that an individual use force with the specific intent to accomplish theft.
The full text of Mwendapeke v. Garland can be found here: https://media.ca7.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/OpinionsWeb/processWebInputExternal.pl?Submit=Display&Path=Y2023/D12-07/C:22-2383:J:Brennan:aut:T:fnOp:N:3140778:S:0
The Eighth Circuit has concluded that an Arizona kidnapping conviction qualifies as a crime of violence because it requires the use of force against the victim (unless the victim is a minor or incompetent).
The full text of US v. Goforth can be found here:
The Ninth Circuit has determined that a federal conviction for voluntary manslaughter is a crime of violence. In a footnote, the court noted that its caselaw determining that California’s voluntary manslaughter statute is not a crime of violence is no longer tenable in light of intervening caselaw.
The full text of US v. Draper can be found here:
https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2023/10/17/17-15104.pdf
The Ninth Circuit has determined that Georgia’s aggravated assault statute is divisible as compared to the definition of a crime of violence. Aggravated assault under Georgia law has two elements: (1) commission of a simple assault and (2) the presence of one statutory aggravator. Simple assault can be committed in one of two ways: (1) attempting to commit a violent injury to the person of another; or (2) committing an act which places another in reasonable apprehension of immediately receiving a violent injury.
Applying the modified categorical approach, the Court determined that Barlow had been convicted of simple assault committed with a deadly weapon. Barlow asserted that his conviction rested upon the least of the acts criminalized by the statute, placing another in apprehension of receiving a violent injury. “[W]e need not decide whether a reasonable apprehension form of simple assault constitutes a ‘crime of violence’ because Barlow’s indictment confirms that he committed the assault ‘by striking [the victim] with said handgun’ and ‘by shooting [the victim] with said handgun,’ not by placing the victim in reasonable apprehension of receiving a violent injury.” “[T]hat is, [] Barlow ‘attempt[ed] to commit a violent injury to the person of another.’” “We therefore hold that Barlow’s conviction for aggravated assault necessarily has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another, and therefore qualifies as a ‘crime of violence’ under the elements clause.”
The full text of US v. Barlow can be found here: https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2023/10/04/22-30030.pdf
The Eighth Circuit has determined that an Illinois conviction for aggravated vehicular hijacking is a crime of violence because the statute does not encompass reckless acts.
The full text of United States v. Pulley can be found here:
The Eighth Circuit has determined that an Iowa conviction for domestic abuse assault with the use or display of a weapon is a crime of violence because the display of a dangerous weapon requires at least the threatened use of physical force, and there is no distinction between the “use” and the “display” of a dangerous weapon under Iowa law.
The full text of U.S. v. Conrad can be found here:
The Eighth Circuit has reaffirmed that a Missouri statute criminalizing resisting arrest is divisible as compared to the definition of a crime of violence. “Our decisions concluded that resisting arrest by using or threatening the use of force is a ‘violent felony’ under the Armed Career Criminal Act, but that resisting arrest by fleeing is not a ‘crime of violence’ under the sentencing guidelines.”
The full text of U.S. v. Brown can be found here:
The Eighth Circuit has determined that an Iowa conviction for committing willful injury - even the less serious offense that requires mere injury, as opposed to serious injury - is a crime of violence. “Committing willful injury in Iowa requires an unjustified ‘act’ that is ‘intended to cause serious injury.’ The fact that the statute requires an intent to cause harm to another person necessarily means that anyone who violates it has used ‘physical force against the person of another.’”
The full text U.S. v. Cungtion, Jr. can be found here:
The Eighth Circuit has determined that an Iowa conviction for use or display of a deadly weapon in connection with an assault is a crime of violence because displaying an operational weapon before another in an angry or threatening manner qualifies as a threatened use of physical force.
The full text of United States v. Green can be found here
The Board of Immigration Appeals (Board) has determined that a New York conviction for second-degree burglary of a building (as opposed to a dwelling) is overbroad when compared to the definition of a burglary aggravated felony because it criminalizes burglaries of inclosed motor trucks. The statute is also invisible with respect to the definition of a building, so any subsection criminalizing burglary of a building will not meet the definition of a burglary aggravated felony.
The conviction also does not qualify as a theft aggravated felony because it only requires the intent to commit a crime, and there is no requirement that a burglar take property or otherwise exercise control of property without consent.
However, the statute is divisible into different subsections, and the subsection criminalizing the display of a firearm during a burglary is a crime of violence aggravated felony because another person must be present to view the display of the weapon, and that person must feel threatened by the display. Thus, the display of the firearm necessarily involves the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force.
The analysis pertaining to the crime of violence drew a detailed dissent, attacking the majority’s analysis of New York criminal law.
The full text of Matter of Pougatchev can be found here:
The Sixth Circuit has determined that an Arkansas conviction for third-degree assault on a family or household member is a crime of violence because it requires creating a purposefully creating an apprehension of imminent physical injury, which necessarily requires the threatened use of physical force.
The full text of Banuelos-Jimenez v. Garland can be found here: https://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/23a0097p-06.pdf
The Eighth Circuit has determined that a federal conviction for assaulting, opposing, resisting, or impeding a federal officer with use of a deadly weapon or with infliction of bodily injury is a crime of violence.
The full text of US v. Medearis can be found here:
The Ninth Circuit has determined that an Ohio statute criminalizing assault on a police officer qualifies as a crime of violence. The court noted that knowledge is a sufficient mens reas for a crime of violence. The court also found that force sufficient to cause physical harm — even of minimal gravity or duration — is sufficient to qualify as a crime of violence.
The full text of United States v. Alvarez can be found here:
https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2023/02/16/21-50088.pdf
