United States v. Richard Mathis
2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 7847
8th Cir.2015Background
- Mathis, a convicted felon, was arrested after police found a loaded rifle and evidence (texts, images) suggesting sexual contact with underage males; he pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).
- At sentencing the district court applied the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), finding Mathis had three predicate "violent felonies": five Iowa burglary convictions and an earlier conviction for interference with official acts inflicting serious injury.
- The court treated Iowa second-degree burglary as divisible and used the modified categorical approach to identify that at least two convictions involved garages (buildings), qualifying as generic burglary predicates under ACCA.
- The court imposed the ACCA 15-year mandatory minimum (180 months) and five years supervised release.
- The district court also imposed sex-offender-related special conditions on supervised release based on testimony and undisputed portions of the PSR detailing prior allegations and parole revocations for inappropriate conduct with young males, even though Mathis had no sex-offense conviction for the instant offense.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Iowa second-degree burglary convictions qualify as ACCA "burglary" predicates | Mathis: Iowa statute is indivisible or broader than generic burglary, so convictions are not ACCA predicates | Govt: Iowa statute is divisible; modified categorical approach shows some convictions fit generic burglary | Court: Statute is divisible; modified categorical approach shows at least two convictions involved garages (buildings) and, with another predicate, ACCA applies |
| Whether court properly consulted definitional provisions outside the convicting statute for divisibility | Mathis: Such cross-referencing is improper or unhelpful | Govt: Eighth Circuit precedent permits consulting related statutory definitions | Court: Accepts cross-referencing under Eighth Circuit precedent to determine divisibility |
| Whether special sex-offender conditions on supervised release were an abuse of discretion | Mathis: Conditions are greater deprivation of liberty than necessary and improper absent a sex conviction | Govt: Evidence of prior sexual misconduct with minors justifies conditions to protect public and aid rehabilitation | Court: No abuse of discretion; conditions reasonably related to §3553(a) factors given testimony and undisputed PSR facts |
| Whether district court erred in ACCA residual-clause analysis (risk-based clause) | Mathis: Burglary convictions shouldn't be deemed violent felonies under residual clause | Govt: Burglary convictions are substantially similar to generic burglary and pose similar risks | Court: Decision rests on divisible-statute/modified-categorical approach; ACCA enhancement affirmed (residual-clause discussion not necessary to disposition) |
Key Cases Cited
- Descamps v. United States, 133 S. Ct. 2276 (2013) (clarifies when the modified categorical approach applies to divisible statutes)
- Shepard v. United States, 544 U.S. 13 (2005) (limits documents courts may consult under the modified categorical approach)
- Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575 (1990) (defines "generic burglary" for ACCA purposes and introduces the categorical approach)
- United States v. Bell, 445 F.3d 1086 (8th Cir. 2006) (applied modified categorical approach to Missouri burglary statute to find generic burglary)
- United States v. Kelly, 625 F.3d 516 (8th Cir. 2010) (upheld sex-offender-related supervised-release conditions for a non-sex-offense conviction where defendant had prior sex convictions)
- United States v. Schaefer, 675 F.3d 1122 (8th Cir. 2012) (standard of review and permissible factual bases for supervised-release conditions)