642 F. App'x 650
8th Cir.2016Background
- Defendant Jamie David Harvey pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and received a 15-year mandatory minimum under 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1).
- The district court treated three prior convictions as "violent felonies" under 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B), triggering the Armed Career Criminal Act enhancement.
- Harvey conceded one prior conviction was a violent felony but challenged two convictions under Minn. Stat. § 609.222, subd. 1 (second-degree assault, subdivision 1: "assault[ing] another with a dangerous weapon").
- Minnesota’s definition of "assault" includes (1) an act done with intent to cause fear of immediate bodily harm or death, and (2) the intentional infliction of or attempt to inflict bodily harm. See Minn. Stat. § 609.02, subd. 10.
- Harvey argued those two definitions could encompass non-violent conduct (e.g., causing fear without threatening physical force; poisoning or use of infected fluids) and therefore did not categorically qualify as violent felonies under § 924(e)(2)(B)(i).
- The Eighth Circuit rejected Harvey’s arguments, relying on prior precedents, and affirmed the district court’s classification and the 15-year sentence.
Issues
| Issue | Harvey's Argument | Government's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Minnesota second-degree assault (subd. 1) is a "violent felony" under 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)(i) | The statute can criminalize causing fear or inflicting harm without threatening or using physical force (e.g., fear without a threat; poisoning), so it is not categorically a violent felony | The statutory elements (both definitions of "assault") involve the threatened, attempted, or actual use of physical force against another person, qualifying as violent felonies | Affirmed: both definitions qualify; the convictions are violent felonies under § 924(e)(2)(B)(i) and the ACCA enhancement was proper |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Rice, 813 F.3d 704 (8th Cir. 2016) (holding that knowingly using poison as a device to cause physical harm involves the use of physical force for purposes of the violent-felony definition)