1 F.4th 632
8th Cir.2021Background
- Defendant Zacharia Clark pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of ammunition and faced ACCA sentencing based on three prior felony convictions.
- Prior convictions: one Illinois aggravated battery of a peace officer (720 Ill. Comp. Stat. § 5/12-3.05(d)(4)) and two Iowa willful-injury convictions (Iowa Code § 708.4(2)).
- District court treated those priors as ACCA "violent felonies" under the force clause and imposed a 200-month sentence; Clark appealed.
- The legal question: whether each prior conviction "has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another" (ACCA force clause).
- Court applied the categorical and modified categorical approaches (Shepard documents) to identify statutory alternatives forming the convictions.
- The government introduced the state Information and judgment as Shepard documents; the court found the Illinois count was based on the "causes bodily harm" alternative and the Iowa convictions required causing bodily injury.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Illinois aggravated battery of a peace officer (§ 5/12-3.05(d)(4)) is an ACCA violent felony | Clark: statute divisible; his conviction could rest on non-forceful "insulting contact" alternative, so not necessarily a violent felony | Government: modified categorical review of the Information shows Count 2 alleged "caused bodily harm," which requires violent force | Held: Yes. Shepard documents show Count 2 was based on "causes bodily harm," which satisfies ACCA force clause |
| Admissibility of the state Information as a Shepard document | Clark: the Information was signed by law enforcement and thus impermissible under Shepard | Government: the Information is the official charging document under Illinois law and is a proper Shepard document | Held: Information and judgment are proper Shepard documents; district court properly relied on them |
| Whether Iowa willful injury (§ 708.4(2)) is an ACCA violent felony | Clark: "bodily injury" threshold in Iowa law is low; statute can encompass mental injury or failures to act, so may not require violent force | Government: § 708.4(2) requires causing bodily injury (defined as physical pain, illness, or impairment), which entails physical force | Held: Yes. Prior Eighth Circuit precedent and Iowa law show § 708.4(2) requires physical force; conviction is an ACCA violent felony |
Key Cases Cited
- Shepard v. United States, 544 U.S. 13 (2005) (permitted limited judicial records for modified categorical inquiry)
- Mathis v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 2243 (2016) (explains categorical/modified categorical approaches)
- United States v. Roman, 917 F.3d 1043 (8th Cir. 2019) (Illinois aggravated-battery conviction qualifies as a crime of violence when based on "causes bodily harm")
- United States v. Rice, 813 F.3d 704 (8th Cir. 2016) (interpreting force requirement in analogous statutes)
- United States v. Hataway, 933 F.3d 940 (8th Cir. 2019) (treats "causes bodily harm" language as satisfying force element)
- Jima v. Barr, 942 F.3d 468 (8th Cir. 2019) (held Iowa § 708.4(2) is a crime of violence under similar force-language statute)
- Boaz v. United States, 884 F.3d 808 (8th Cir. 2018) (standard of review cited)
- United States v. Scott, 818 F.3d 424 (8th Cir. 2016) (interpreting similar state statute as requiring physical force)