United States v. Williams
2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 25419
| 8th Cir. | 2010Background
- Williams pleaded guilty to felon in possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g), 924(a)(2).
- PSR calculated an 77–96 month range with total offense level 21 and criminal history VI.
- PSR increased base level to 22 using § 2K2.1(b)(4) (stolen firearm) and § 3E1.1 (acceptance of responsibility)
- The 2002 Nebraska escape conviction was used to support a crime-of-violence finding under a modified categorical approach.
- Nebraska § 28-912 criminalizes both actual escape and failure to report; Chambers limited overbreadth of treating all escapes as crimes of violence.
- District court concluded the 2002 escape qualified as a crime of violence and sentenced Williams at the bottom of the 70–87 month range; on appeal, issue centered on the proper use of the modified categorical approach and the error in relying on police reports in PSR
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the 2002 escape conviction qualifies as a crime of violence | Williams argues the offense does not qualify under Begay/Chambers. | Government contends all escapes are crimes of violence under current precedent or, at least, the facts show a crime of violence. | Procedural error; the district court erred under the modified categorical approach and must reassess |
| Whether the district court relied on improper sources to apply the modified categorical approach | Williams challenged reliance on PSR and police reports. | Government relied on acceptable Taylor/Shepard documents to define the statute portion | Error; PSR-predicated facts cannot support the decision; not acceptable under Taylor/Shepard |
| Whether the sentencing error was harmless | Error affected the guideline computation. | Government contends harmless, or record supports same sentence | Not harmless; lacks alternative sentence on record; remand required |
| Whether the overall sentence is substantively reasonable given the error | Williams argues sentence is unreasonable given miscalculation. | No position beyond error discussion. | Not addressed due to procedural error; remanded for resentencing |
| Whether the case should be remanded for new proceedings to determine the correct crime-of-violence basis | Remand to permit proper evidence under acceptable documents | Procedure should ensure proper record | Remand ordered for resentencing with proper record |
Key Cases Cited
- Begay v. United States, 128 S. Ct. 1581 (2008) (limits on “crime of violence” under guidelines/ACCA)
- Chambers v. United States, 555 U.S. 122 (2009) (overruled overbroad rule that all escapes are crimes of violence)
- Nation v. United States, 243 F.3d 467 (8th Cir. 2001) (escape as crime of violence abrogated by Chambers)
- Pearson v. United States, 553 F.3d 1183 (8th Cir. 2009) (modified categorical approach for determining which statute was the basis of conviction)
- Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575 (1990) (establishes framework for categorical approach)
- Shepard v. United States, 125 S. Ct. 1254 (2005) (rejects reliance on police reports for sentencing under modified approach)
- Ross v. United States, 613 F.3d 805 (8th Cir. 2010) (clarifies use of documents to determine statute portion)
- Howell v. United States, 531 F.3d 621 (8th Cir. 2008) (emphasizes use of Taylor/Shepard documents for modified approach)
- McCall v. United States, 439 F.3d 967 (8th Cir. 2006) (PSR reliance on police reports is improper for adjudicating crime of violence)