United States v. Cartwright

678 F.3d 907, 2012 WL 1864318, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 10550
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedMay 23, 2012
Docket11-5060
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 678 F.3d 907 (United States v. Cartwright) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth 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. Cartwright, 678 F.3d 907, 2012 WL 1864318, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 10550 (10th Cir. 2012).

Opinion

BALDOCK, Circuit Judge.

Among other things, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g) prohibits a convicted felon from possessing ammunition. Meanwhile, the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) mandates a 15-year minimum term of imprisonment for “a person who violates section 922(g) ... and has three previous convictions ... for a violent felony ... committed on occasions different from one another.” Id. § 924(e)(1). The ACCA defines a “violent felony” in pertinent part as “any crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year ... that ... is burglary ... or otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.” Id. § 924(e)(2)(B). A jury convicted Defendant Tracy Don Cartwright of being a felon in possession of ammunition in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). The probation office prepared a Presentence Investigation Report (PSR) that classified Defendant, based on three prior Oklahoma burglary convictions, as an armed career criminal subject to a 15-year minimum sentence under the ACCA. Defendant objected to that classification, arguing two of the three identified crimes did not qualify as “burglary convictions” within the meaning of § 924. The district court overruled Defendant’s objections to the PSR and sentenced him accordingly. Defendant appealed, asking us to decide two questions: (1) whether an Oklahoma second-degree burglary conviction based on entry into a building by an instrument capable of completing the in *909 tended crime qualifies as a “burglary” under the ACCA and, (2) whether a nolo contendere plea to another Oklahoma second-degree burglary conviction qualifies as a “conviction” under the ACCA. We exercise jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 3742. We review de novo whether a defendant’s prior conviction qualifies as a violent felony under the ACCA. United States v. Smith, 652 F.3d 1244, 1246 (10th Cir.2011). Considering each question in turn, we affirm.

I.

Defendant first objected to the Government’s use of a Wagoner County, Oklahoma conviction for second-degree burglary. In that case, the Government charged Defendant in an information, which stated in part that Defendant “did unlawfully, wilfully, and feloniously break and enter into a certain building ... by breaking open the outer rear door of said building and entering without the consent of said owner, with the felonious intent to steal said property, to commit any felony[.]” In addition to the information, the Government provided the district court with the jury instructions from the Wagoner County case. Jury instruction 13 recited the elements of burglary. That instruction stated:

No person may be convicted of burglary in the second degree unless the state has proved beyond a reasonable doubt each element of the crime. These elements are: first, breaking; second, entering; third, a building, structure; fourth, of another; fifth, in which property is kept; sixth, with the intent to [steal] [commit any felony].

(brackets in original). Jury instruction 14 provided the jury with a definition of “entering.” That instruction stated in part:

Entering — An entry which occurs when any part of a person’s body is within the house. [However, if a tool or an instrument is used and inserted inside, without any part of the person being within the house, it is an entry if the insertion of the tool or instrument is capable of completing the purpose of the intended crime.]

(brackets in original). Defendant argued this instruction advised the jury that entry occurs not only where a person’s body is within the building, but also where a tool or instrument is inserted inside that building without any physical entry by the person. Defendant contended that burglary by a tool or instrument is not “burglary” under the ACCA, which disqualifies the Wagoner County conviction for purposes of the enhancement.

The district court issued an opinion overruling Defendant’s objection to the PSR’s characterization of his Wagoner County conviction as a burglary under the ACCA. The district court uncovered no cases addressing whether “burglary” under the ACCA contemplates personal entry only. The district court reasoned, however, that entry via tool or instrument would implicate the same concerns about safety as personal entry into a building or structure. The court concluded the potential exists for confrontation during the commission of a burglary whether a person enters the house through personal entry or by means of a tool or instrument. Moreover, the district court looked to our precedent and noted the charging language in the information in the Wagoner County case is nearly identical to that in other cases in which we have concluded the Government charged the essential elements of burglary under the ACCA.

A.

When Congress first passed the ACCA in 1984, the statute itself contained the following definition of burglary: “any felo *910 ny consisting of entering or remaining surreptitiously within a building that is property of another with intent to engage in conduct constituting a Federal or State offense.” 18 U.S.C. § 1202(c)(9) (repealed 1986). But Congress deleted the definition in 1986 when it amended the ACCA. Because of that deletion, in Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575, 110 S.Ct. 2143, 109 L.Ed.2d 607 (1990), the Supreme Court determined the meaning of the word “burglary” as used in the ACCA. The Taylor court first turned to the legislative history of the statute and drew five important conclusions. First, the Court observed “throughout the history of the enhancement provision, Congress focused its efforts on career offenders — those who commit a large number of fairly serious crimes as them means of livelihood, and who, because they possess weapons, present at least a potential threat of harm to persons.” Id. at 587-88, 110 S.Ct. 2143. Second, the Court stated the legislative history “indicates that Congress singled out burglary (as opposed to other frequently committed property crimes such as larceny and auto theft) for inclusion as a predicate offense, both in 1984 and in 1986, because of its inherent potential for harms to persons.” Id. at 588, 110 S.Ct. 2143. Third, the Court opined that an offender’s entry into a building “often creates the possibility of a violent confrontation between the offender and an occupant, caretaker, or some other person who comes to investigate.” Id. Because of the seriousness of the offense, “[t]here was never any proposal to limit the predicate offense to some special subclass of burglaries ...” Id.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
678 F.3d 907, 2012 WL 1864318, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 10550, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-cartwright-ca10-2012.