United States v. Anthony Leonardo Cooper

598 F. App'x 682
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedJanuary 30, 2015
Docket14-13755
StatusUnpublished

This text of 598 F. App'x 682 (United States v. Anthony Leonardo Cooper) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Anthony Leonardo Cooper, 598 F. App'x 682 (11th Cir. 2015).

Opinion

PER CURIAM:

Anthony Cooper appeals his 14-month sentence, imposed for violating conditions of his supervised release pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e). On appeal, Cooper argues that: (1) the district court procedurally erred in determining the guideline range for the revocation by finding his Florida state conviction for false imprisonment, pursuant to Fla. Stat. § 787.02, was a “crime of violence” under U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2; and (2) his sentence, imposed below the guideline range, was substantively unreasonable. After careful review, we affirm.

We review a sentence imposed upon revocation of supervised release for reasonableness. United States v. Sweeting, 437 F.3d 1105, 1106-07 (11th Cir.2006). When reviewing for reasonableness, we apply the abuse-of-diseretion standard. Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 46, 128 S.Ct. 586, 169 L.Ed.2d 445 (2007). We review de novo whether a defendant’s prior conviction is a “crime of violence” under the Guidelines. United States v. Cortes-Salazar, 682 F.3d 953, 954 (11th Cir.2012), cert. denied, — U.S. —, 133 S.Ct. 995, 184 L.Ed.2d 772 (2013).

First, we are unpersuaded by Cooper’s claim that the district court procedurally erred in determining the guideline range for the revocation. If a defendant violates a condition of supervised release, the district court may, after considering the relevant factors set forth in § 3553(a), continue supervised release or revoke the sentence of supervised release and resen-tence the defendant. 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e). 1 Among other things, the district court must consider the correct advisory guideline range. Id. (citing 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(4)). “[The] recommended sentencing range is based on the classification of the conduct that resulted in the revocation and the criminal history category applicable at the time” of the defendant’s original sentencing. United States v. Campbell, 473 F.3d 1345, 1348-49 (11th Cir.2007) (citing U.S.S.G. §§ 7B1.1, 7B1.4).

Pursuant to § 7B1.3(a)(l) of the Sentencing Guidelines, upon a finding of a Grade A violation, the court “shall revoke” supervised release. U.S.S.G. § 7B1.3(a)(l). A “Grade A” violation is defined as “conduct constituting (A) a federal, state, or local offense punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year that (i) is a crime of violence.... ” Id. § 7Bl.l(a)(l).

Section 4B1.2(a) defines “crime of violence” to include any offense that either “has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another,” or that “is burglary of a dwelling, arson, or extortion, involves use of explosives, or otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.” *684 Id. § 4B1.2(a)(l), (2). Notably, the definition of a “crime of violence” under § 4B1.2(a) is “virtually identical” to the definition of a “violent felony” in the Armed Career Criminal Act (“ACCA”), and, therefore, we apply a similar analysis in deciding whether a given offense qualifies as a crime of violence or a violent felony. United States v. Alexander, 609 F.3d 1250, 1253 (11th Cir.2010) (quotation omitted).

When analyzing a case under § 4B1.2, we generally apply a “categorical approach,” looking “no further than the fact of conviction and the statutory definition of the prior offense.” United States v. Lockley, 632 F.3d 1238, 1240 (11th Cir.2011) (quotations omitted). In doing so, we disregard the label placed on the state crime and instead look to whether the conduct necessary to establish a conviction under the state law is a natural equivalent to the offenses designated as crimes of violence. Id. at 1242. In United States v. Schneider, we conducted a categorical analysis of Florida’s false imprisonment statute to determine whether Florida’s false imprisonment statute is a “violent felony” for purposes of the ACCA. 681 F.3d 1273, 1276 (11th Cir.2012). We found that false imprisonment was “comparable to [the enumerated offense of] burglary with respect to the degree and kind of risk produced” because the risk created by false imprisonment, even if accomplished by deceit, “arises from the possibility that the victim might try to resist or escape.” Id. at 1281. Accordingly, we held that Florida’s false imprisonment crime, “even when accomplished secretly, produces a serious potential risk of physical injury to another for purposes of the residual clause of the [ACCA].” Id. at 1282 (quotation omitted).

In this case, the district court did not commit procedural error in finding that Cooper's Florida false imprisonment conviction was categorically a “crime of violence” based on our holding and analysis of Fla. Stat. § 787.02 in Schneider. Although Schneider involved an inquiry as to whether Florida’s false imprisonment statute was categorically a “violent felony” for purposes of the ACCA, the definition of “crime of violence” under § 4B1.2 is “virtually identical,” and the analysis is similar. Alexander, 609 F.3d at 1253. In particular, Schneider concluded that false imprisonment was “comparable” to the enumerated offense of burglary, which is also designated as a crime of violence under § 4B1.2. Schneider, 681 F.3d at 1281; Lockley, 632 F.3d at 1242; U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1(a).

As for Cooper’s argument that false imprisonment does not ordinarily entail a risk of injury, this was also foreclosed by Schneider. There, we held that the risk of injury in false imprisonment arose “from the possibility that the victim might try to resist or escape” even in situations where the victim was imprisoned “secretly.” Schneider, 681 F.3d at 1281. Finally, it does not matter whether false imprisonment constitutes “purposeful, violent, and aggressive conduct” because false imprisonment is not a crime of strict liability, negligence, or recklessness. Id. at 1280-82. Accordingly, the district court did not abuse its discretion in finding that Cooper’s conviction constituted a Grade A felony for purposes of determining his advisory guideline range under § 7B1.4.

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Bluebook (online)
598 F. App'x 682, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-anthony-leonardo-cooper-ca11-2015.