United States v. Phillip Fields
2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 13062
| 8th Cir. | 2017Background
- Phillip Fields pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2) and was sentenced to 41 months.
- The PSR identified two qualifying prior felonies (one controlled-substance, one crime of violence), yielding a U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1 base offense level of 24.
- Fields objected, arguing his Missouri second-degree assault conviction, Mo. Rev. Stat. § 565.060.1(3) (recklessly causing serious physical injury), is not a "crime of violence," which would reduce the base level to 20.
- The district court overruled the objection, applied the higher base level, and sentenced at the bottom of the Guidelines range (41 months).
- The government conceded the Missouri statute can reach reckless driving causing injury; the question before the court was whether conviction under subsection (3) is categorically a crime of violence under the Guidelines' force clause.
- The Eighth Circuit majority held the conviction is not a crime of violence because the statute encompasses reckless driving resulting in injury, so Ossana controls; the case is reversed and remanded for resentencing.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Missouri second-degree assault under § 565.060.1(3) (reckless serious physical injury) is categorically a "crime of violence" under U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a) (force clause) | Fields: conviction is not a crime of violence because the statute criminalizes reckless conduct (e.g., reckless driving causing injury) and thus does not necessarily involve the use of physical force against a person | Government: subsequent Supreme Court and Eighth Circuit decisions (Voisine, Fogg) allow reckless mens rea offenses to qualify; Ossana should no longer control | Held: Not a crime of violence — statute encompasses reckless driving causing injury; Ossana remains controlling, so enhancement vacated and case remanded for resentencing |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Ossana, 638 F.3d 895 (8th Cir. 2011) (holding an assault statute that encompasses reckless driving causing injury is not categorically a crime of violence)
- United States v. Dawn, 685 F.3d 790 (8th Cir. 2012) (applied Ossana to conclude a statutory battery that reaches reckless driving is not a crime of violence)
- United States v. Boose, 739 F.3d 1185 (8th Cir. 2014) (reaffirming that statutes encompassing reckless driving resulting in serious injury do not categorically qualify under the force clause)
- United States v. Rice, 813 F.3d 704 (8th Cir. 2016) (explaining the categorical and modified categorical approaches to prior convictions under the Guidelines)
- United States v. Harrison, 809 F.3d 420 (8th Cir. 2015) (noting de novo review of whether an offense qualifies as a crime of violence)
- Voisine v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 2272 (2016) (Supreme Court held that offenses committed with reckless mens rea can qualify as misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence for § 922(g)(9))
- United States v. Fogg, 836 F.3d 951 (8th Cir. 2016) (applied Voisine to find a reckless firearm-discharge offense was a violent felony under the ACCA)
- United States v. Benedict, 855 F.3d 880 (8th Cir. 2017) (noting post‑August 2016 removal of the Guidelines' residual clause)