Background

• Benton was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) after a 2008 traffic stop revealed a loaded stolen .45 revolver in his car.
• A passenger admitted Benton asked her to hide the revolver; the gun had been stolen in 1996.
• Benton pleaded guilty on June 24, 2009; the PSR assigned a base offense level of 20, with ACCA enhancements bringing the level to 33 and a Criminal History Category IV under ACCA.
• District court applied ACCA based on prior Tennessee convictions including aggravated assault and solicitation to commit aggravated assault.
• Benton moved to withdraw his guilty plea before sentencing, which the district court denied; Benton appealed the denial and the ACCA enhancement.
• The court held that solicitation to commit aggravated assault is a violent felony under the ACCA and affirmed the denial of withdrawal of the plea.

Issues

Key Cases Cited

• United States v. Bashara, 27 F.3d 1174 (6th Cir. 1994) (seven-factor plea withdrawal test)
• United States v. Ellis, 470 F.3d 275 (6th Cir. 2006) (abuse of discretion standard for plea withdrawals)
• United States v. Lineback, 330 F.3d 441 (6th Cir. 2003) (abuse-of-discretion review framework)
• United States v. Haygood, 549 F.3d 1049 (6th Cir. 2008) (plea withdrawal timing considerations)
• Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575 (U.S. Supreme Court 1990) (categorical approach to prior offenses for ACCA)
• Begay v. United States, 553 U.S. 137 (U.S. Supreme Court 2008) (limitation on residual clause and similarity to listed offenses)
• United States v. Young, 580 F.3d 373 (6th Cir. 2009) (two-part test for violent felony under ACCA’s residual clause)
• United States v. Matthews, 278 F.3d 560 (6th Cir. 2002) (reckless aggravated assault can be a violent felony)
• Johnson v. United States, 130 S. Ct. 1265 (2010) (definition of physical force under ACCA)