United States v. Wright
812 F.3d 27
1st Cir.2016Background
- Christopher Wright pleaded guilty (2007) to being a felon in possession of a firearm (18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1), 924(a)(2)) and criminal contempt (18 U.S.C. § 401(3)); received concurrent prison terms and concurrent supervised release terms.
- Release conditions included no commission of another federal, state, or local crime and no illegal drug use; Wright later admitted drug use and was charged with state aggravated assault after an incident in which he grabbed a man through a car window, rode while dangling outside, punched the man, and the man’s leg was run over.
- The government filed supervised-release revocation petitions for drug use (admitted) and violation of state law (aggravated assault); the district court found the Maine aggravated-assault statute’s dangerous-weapon prong satisfied (vehicle used recklessly) and revoked Wright’s supervised release.
- At sentencing for the revocation, the district court treated Wright’s underlying criminal contempt conviction as a Class A felony (on the theory that § 401 authorizes up to life imprisonment) and imposed a 30-month prison term (below the five-year revocation cap for Class A felonies).
- Wright appealed, arguing (1) the Maine conduct did not constitute aggravated assault and (2) criminal contempt should be a Class C felony (limiting revocation exposure to two years), making his 30-month revocation sentence exceed the applicable statutory maximum.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Wright’s conduct constituted aggravated assault under Maine law | Wright: driving away did not make the vehicle a "dangerous weapon" and facts do not show recklessness | Government/District Court: vehicle was used in a manner capable of producing serious injury; grabbing and dragging showed conscious disregard of risk | Held: Conduct satisfied § 208(1)(B) (use of a dangerous weapon); revocation on state-law ground sustained |
| Proper classification of criminal contempt under 18 U.S.C. § 3559(a) for revocation sentencing | Wright: criminal contempt should be Class C (max <10 yrs but ≥2 yrs), so revocation cap is 2 years; 30-month sentence exceeds statutory cap | Government/District Court: § 401 has no statutory maximum so maximum is life; under § 3559(a) that makes contempt a Class A felony (revocation cap 5 years) | Held: § 401 authorizes up to life; criminal contempt is classified as a Class A felony for § 3559(a); 30‑month sentence permissible |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Ashqar, 582 F.3d 819 (7th Cir. 2009) (holds criminal contempt’s statutory maximum is life imprisonment)
- United States v. Turner, 389 F.3d 111 (4th Cir. 2004) (absence of a specified statutory maximum implies life imprisonment)
- Frank v. United States, 395 U.S. 147 (1969) (Congress authorized contempt penalties without specifying limits)
- United States v. Carpenter, 91 F.3d 1282 (9th Cir. 1996) (took a different approach; sought analogous-offense classification rather than literal § 3559(a) reading)
- United States v. Broussard, 611 F.3d 1069 (9th Cir. 2010) (post-Booker refinement of Carpenter to rely on most analogous offense’s statutory maximum)
- United States v. Cohn, 586 F.3d 844 (11th Cir. 2009) (refused uniform classification; deemed contempt sui generis and declined to set a § 3559(a) classification)
- Green v. United States, 356 U.S. 165 (1958) (appellate review and careful use check potential abuse of contempt power)