Background

• Defendant Nicholas Maida pled guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).
• The district court applied U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1(a)(2), assigning a base offense level of 24 because Maida had two prior felony convictions qualifying as "crimes of violence" under U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a).
• One prior conviction was a Florida aggravated battery with a deadly weapon conviction; Maida argued that offense does not have, as an element, the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force.
• The Guidelines’ elements clause defines a "crime of violence" to include offenses having as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against another person.
• The Eleventh Circuit has previously held that Florida aggravated battery with a deadly weapon qualifies under the ACCA/elements clause in Turner, and treated Turner as binding precedent for identical language in U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2.
• The court affirmed Maida’s 120‑month sentence, holding it bound by Turner and related Eleventh Circuit precedent.

Issues

Key Cases Cited

• United States v. Estrada, 777 F.3d 1318 (11th Cir.) (standard of review: de novo for whether a prior conviction qualifies as a crime of violence)
• Turner v. Warden, Coleman FCI (Medium), 709 F.3d 1328 (11th Cir. 2013) (held Florida aggravated battery with a deadly weapon qualifies as a violent felony under the ACCA elements clause)
• United States v. Golden, 854 F.3d 1256 (11th Cir. 2017) (confirmed Turner remains binding on identical elements-clause issues under the Guidelines)
• United States v. Brown, 342 F.3d 1245 (11th Cir. 2003) (panel precedent binding absent overruling by en banc court or Supreme Court)
• United States v. Archer, 531 F.3d 1347 (11th Cir. 2008) (noting Supreme Court decisions must be clearly on point to abrogate panel precedent)
• Johnson v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 2551 (2015) (cited regarding broader doctrinal developments affecting prior precedent)