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08-3975 & 09-2513 U.S. v. Capler

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//April 4, 2011//

08-3975 & 09-2513 U.S. v. Capler

By: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF//April 4, 2011//

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United States Court of Appeals
CRIMINAL OPINION
Sentencing
Career offender enhancement

Restraining a person against his will is a violent crime under U.S.S.G. 4B1.2.

“Capler contends that Billups bungled the Begay inquiry — both in terms of its assessment of the crime’s similarity to the listed offenses in the residual clause and its assessment of the risks posed by unlawful restraint. With respect to the similar-in-kind inquiry, Capler contends that Billups offers only conclusory support for the holding that unlawful restraint typically involves violent and aggressive behavior. Not so. In Billups we concluded that restraining a person against his will generally creates a significant risk of violence, even where restraint is not accomplished by force. 536 F.3d at 580-81. That determination informed the similar-in-kind analysis just as it did the risk-of-injury analysis. See Dismuke, 593 F.3d at 594 (explaining that categorically violent felonies are those that carry a genuine risk of violence); United States v. Patterson, 576 F.3d 431, 442 (7th Cir. 2009), cert. denied, 78 U.S.L.W. 3438 (U.S. Jan. 25, 2010) (No. 09-7158) (explaining that risk of violence need only ‘attend’ a violation of predicate crime for purposes of crime-of-violence inquiry). Describing the Wisconsin offense as ‘inherently . . . coercive,’ our decision in Billups goes on to draw parallels between false imprisonment and the listed crimes of extortion and burglary — crimes that can be committed in a nonviolent manner and yet still carry a substantial risk of harm. 536 F.3d at 583.”

Affirmed.
08-3975 & 09-2513 U.S. v. Capler
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois, Scott, J., Sykes, J.

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