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09-11311 Sykes v. U.S.

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//June 9, 2011//

09-11311 Sykes v. U.S.

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//June 9, 2011//

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Sentencing
ACCA; fleeing an officer

Felony vehicle flight is a violent felony for purposes of ACCA.

Sykes’ argument—that Begay v. United States, 553 U. S. 137, and Chambers v. United States, 555 U. S. 122, require ACCA predicate crimes to be purposeful, violent, and aggressive in ways that vehicle flight is not—overreads those opinions. In general, levels of risk divide crimes that qualify as violent felonies from those that do not. Chambers is no exception: It explained that failure to report does not qualify because the typical offender is not “significantly more likely than others to attack, or physically to resist, an apprehender.” 555 U. S., at ___–___. Begay, which held that driving under the influence (DUI) is not an ACCA predicate and stated that it is not purposeful, violent, and aggressive, 553 U. S., at 145–148, is the Court’s sole residual clause decision in which risk was not the dispositive factor. But Begay also gave a more specific reason for its holding: DUI “need not be purposeful or deliberate,” id., at 145, and is analogous to strict-liability, negligence, and recklessness crimes. Begay’s “purposeful, violent, and aggressive” phrase is an addition to the statutory text that has no precise link to the residual clause. Because vehicle flight is not a strict-liability, negligence, or recklessness crime and is, as a categorical matter, similar in risk to the crimes listed in the residual clause, it is a violent felony.

598 F. 3d 334, affirmed.

Local effect: The opinion affirmed originated in the Seventh Circuit.

09-11311 Sykes v. U.S.

Kennedy, J.; Thomas, J., concurring; Scalia, J., dissenting; Kagan, J., dissenting.

TAGS: SCOTUS Digest, Criminal Digest, Sentencing Digest

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