United States v. Snyder

5 F. Supp. 3d 1258, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38541, 2014 WL 1099062
CourtDistrict Court, D. Oregon
DecidedMarch 11, 2014
DocketNo. 1:09-cr-30033-PA
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 5 F. Supp. 3d 1258 (United States v. Snyder) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Snyder, 5 F. Supp. 3d 1258, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38541, 2014 WL 1099062 (D. Or. 2014).

Opinion

ORDER

PANNER, District Judge:

Defendant Ryan Michael Snyder is set to be sentenced for the second time on his conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The Ninth Circuit reversed this court’s sentence and remanded for resentencing. United States v. Snyder, 643 F.3d 694 (9th Cir.2011) (Snyder), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 132 S.Ct. 1909, 182 L.Ed.2d 777 (2012). The Ninth Circuit ruled defendant has three prior convictions that qualify as violent felonies under the Armed Career Criminal Act (the ACCA), and must receive the ACCA’s mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen years’ imprisonment.

But after the Ninth Circuit issued Snyder, the Supreme Court decided Descamps v. United States, — U.S. -, 133 S.Ct. 2276, 186 L.Ed.2d 438 (2013), which rejected the Ninth Circuit’s approach for determining whether a prior conviction is a violent felony. See id., 133 S.Ct. at 2287 (abrogating United States v. Aguila-Montes de Oca, 655 F.3d 915 (9th Cir.2011) (en banc) (per curiam)). Because the Ninth Circuit relied on decisions that Descamps overruled, Snyder is not binding. I reinstate the sentence previously imposed.

PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Defendant pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. See 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). By itself, the crime carries a maximum sentence of ten years in prison, but a defendant with three prior convictions for violent felonies or serious drug offenses faces a mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen years. 18 U.S.C. § 924(e).

. At sentencing, the government argued defendant had three prior convictions for violent felonies: (1) second-degree assault and second-degree robbery1; (2) second-degree burglary; and (3) attempting to elude police. Defendant argued his convictions for second-degree burglary and attempting to elude were not violent felonies.

I concluded second-degree burglary was a violent felony,2 but attempting to elude police was not. Because the ACCA mandatory minimum sentence did not apply, I sentenced defendant to 110 months in prison, the low end of the guideline range.

On appeal, the government contended attempting to elude police was a violent felony. Defendant, contended second-degree burglary was not a violent felony.

On June 9,2011, while the parties’ cross-appeals were pending, the Supreme Court ruled that an Indiana conviction for fleeing police was a violent felony under the ACCA. Sykes v. United States, — U.S. -, 131 S.Ct. 2267, 180 L.Ed.2d 60 (2011).

On June 30, 2011, the Ninth Circuit affirmed that second-degree burglary was a violent felony, but reversed this court’s ruling that attempting to elude was not a violent felony. The Ninth Circuit held Sykes controlled because the Indiana statute at issue there was “similar enough” to the Oregon statute. 643 F.3d at 699. The Ninth Circuit remanded for sentencing to the ACCA’s mandatory minimum.

In June 2013, the Supreme Court issued Descamps.

[1262]*1262LEGAL STANDARDS

When a Ninth Circuit decision becomes “‘clearly irreconcilable’ with the reasoning or theory of intervening higher authority,” this court must follow the higher authority. Rodriguez v. AT & T Mobility Servs. LLC, 728 F.3d 975, 979 (9th Cir.2013) (quoting Miller v. Gammie, 335 F.3d 889, 893 (9th Cir.2003) (en banc)). “The issues presented in the two cases need not be identical in order for the intervening higher authority to be controlling.” Id.

DISCUSSION

I. The ACCA’s Definition of Violent Felony

The ACCA defines “violent felony” as “any crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year ... that (i) has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another; or (ii) is burglary, arson, or extortion, involves the use of explosives, or otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.” 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B).

The ACCA has three tests to determine whether a prior conviction is a violent felony. First, the sentencing court asks whether the prior crime requires proof that the defendant used, attempted to use, or threatened to use physical force against another person. 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)(i). The “force clause” does not apply here because neither burglary nor attempting to elude, police includes an element of force.

Second, if the crime does not include an element of force, the sentencing court asks whether the elements of the prior crime match the elements of one of the ACCA’s list of “generic” crimes: burglary, arson, extortion, or crimes involving explosives. “To determine whether a past conviction is for one of those crimes, courts use what has become known as the ‘categorical approach’: They compare the elements of the statute forming the basis of the defendant’s conviction with the elements of the ‘generic’ crime — ie., the offense as commonly understood.” Descamps, 133 S.Ct. at 2281.

Third, if the prior crime is not a generic crime, the sentencing court asks whether the prior crime “otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.” 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)(ii). This is the ACCA’s “residual clause.”

II. Second-Degree Burglary Under Oregon Law

A. Oregon Burglary Is Not Generic Burglary

Defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree burglary. Under Oregon law, “a person commits the crime of burglary in the second-degree if the person enters or remains unlawfully in a building with intent to commit a crime therein.” Or.Rev. Stat. § 164.215(1). For ACCA purposes, the Supreme Court defines generic burglary as an “ ‘unlawful or unprivileged entry into, or remaining in, a building or structure, with intent to commit a crime.’ ” Descamps, 133 S.Ct. at 2283 (quoting Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575, 599, 110 S.Ct. 2143, 109 L.Ed.2d 607 (1990)).

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Bluebook (online)
5 F. Supp. 3d 1258, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38541, 2014 WL 1099062, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-snyder-ord-2014.