United States v. Jordon Simmons
2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 5395
| 9th Cir. | 2015Background
- Simmons pleaded guilty in federal court to six drug and firearm offenses and was sentenced; the district court treated him as a career offender under U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1(a), which increased his Guidelines range.
- The career-offender designation rested on two prior Hawaii felony convictions: second-degree assault and second-degree escape (Haw. Rev. Stat. § 710-1021).
- The district court concluded both prior convictions were "crimes of violence;" Simmons appealed only the classification of the second-degree escape conviction.
- The district court applied the modified categorical approach and relied on Simmons’ plea colloquy (admission he "ran away from a police car") to find the escape conviction involved conduct presenting a serious potential risk of physical injury.
- After Simmons’ sentencing, the Supreme Court decided Descamps, clarifying that the modified categorical approach applies only to divisible statutes; the Ninth Circuit reassessed whether Hawaii’s escape-from-custody offense qualifies as a Guidelines "crime of violence."
- The Ninth Circuit held that (1) escape-from-custody is not divisible into narrower modes (as the government urged), and (2) escape-from-custody does not satisfy the Guidelines’ residual clause because it need not present a serious potential risk of physical injury nor is it similar in kind/degree to the enumerated offenses.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Simmons’ Hawaii second-degree escape conviction is a "crime of violence" under U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1(a) | Simmons: escape-from-custody is not a crime of violence and thus cannot be used to classify him as a career offender | Government: statute (or its custody element) is divisible and the specific means Simmons admitted (running from a police car) involved a serious risk and thus is a crime of violence | Held: Vacated. Escape-from-custody is not a Guidelines "crime of violence"; district court erred in treating it as a career-offender predicate |
Key Cases Cited
- Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575 (establishes categorical approach for predicate offenses)
- Descamps v. United States, 133 S. Ct. 2276 (modified categorical approach applies only to divisible statutes)
- Chambers v. United States, 555 U.S. 122 (escape statutes may include nonviolent passive escapes)
- James v. United States, 550 U.S. 192 (residual clause requires conduct to present serious potential risk of physical injury)
- Begay v. United States, 553 U.S. 137 (offense must be similar in kind and degree to enumerated crimes)
- United States v. Aguila-Montes de Oca, 655 F.3d 915 (prior Ninth Circuit approach to modified categorical analysis, later abrogated by Descamps)
- United States v. Piccolo, 441 F.3d 1084 (escape can be nonviolent; not categorically a crime of violence)
- United States v. Cabrera-Gutierrez, 756 F.3d 1125 (statutory definitions elsewhere in code do not render an offense divisible unless those items are elements of the offense)