SCOTUSblog By James Romoser 6/10/2021
A fractured Supreme Court on Thursday narrowed the scope of a key phrase in the Armed Career Criminal Act, ruling that crimes involving recklessness do not count as “violent felonies” for the purpose of triggering a key sentencing enhancement.
Justice Elena Kagan announced the judgment of the court and wrote an opinion that was joined by Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch. Justice Clarence Thomas did not join Kagan’s opinion but concurred in the result. That means that five justices rejected the federal government’s more expansive interpretation of the term “violent felony” and handed a victory to a criminal defendant who argued that the sentencing enhancement did not apply to his conduct.
The case, Borden v. United States, involved a provision of ACCA that imposes a 15-year minimum sentence on anyone convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm if the person has three or more prior convictions for a “violent felony.” The term “violent felony” is defined, in relevant part, as any felony that “has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another.”
Charles Borden Jr. pleaded guilty to a felon-in-possession charge, and the government sought the sentencing enhancement under ACCA. Borden argued that the enhancement did not apply because one of the three prior offenses that the government relied on was a conviction under Tennessee law for reckless aggravated assault. That crime, as its name suggests, can result from reckless conduct – a less culpable legal standard than purposefully or knowingly causing injury. Borden argued that only purposeful or knowing conduct can meet ACCA’s definition of “violent felony.” Mere recklessness, he said, does not qualify.
More:
https://www.scotusblog.com/2021/06/supreme-court-limits-definition-of-violent-felony-in-federal-gun-possession-penalty/
