United States v. Todji Kijuan Martin

CourtCourt of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
DecidedApril 3, 2023
Docket22-5278
StatusUnpublished

This text of United States v. Todji Kijuan Martin (United States v. Todji Kijuan Martin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Sixth 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. Todji Kijuan Martin, (6th Cir. 2023).

Opinion

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 23a0152n.06

No. 22-5278

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FILED FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT Apr 03, 2023 DEBORAH S. HUNT, Clerk ) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) Plaintiff-Appellee, ) ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED ) v. STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR ) THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF ) TODJI KIJUAN MARTIN, TENNESSEE ) ) Defendant-Appellant. OPINION )

Before: MOORE, CLAY, and STRANCH, Circuit Judges.

JANE B. STRANCH, Circuit Judge. Todji Kijuan Martin was classified as a career

offender for sentencing purposes based on two prior felony convictions of a crime of violence or

a controlled substance offense, including a 2008 conviction for attempted second degree murder

in Tennessee. Second degree murder was then defined as (1) a knowing killing of another, or (2)

a killing of another resulting from the unlawful distribution of certain drugs. Tenn. Code § 39-13-

210(a) (2008). Martin challenged the career offender designation at sentencing, but the district

court concluded that attempted second degree murder in Tennessee is a crime of violence under

the Sentencing Guidelines, applied the career offender sentencing enhancement, and sentenced

Martin to 151 months’ imprisonment. Martin appeals that determination and requests

resentencing. Because Tennessee’s second degree murder statute is divisible, and the subsection

of the statute that Martin was convicted under requires some use of force or attempted use of force,

we AFFIRM. No. 22-5278, United States v. Martin

I. BACKGROUND

Martin was charged in 2019 with seven counts of possession with intent to distribute a

mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of heroin, and one count of conspiracy to

possess with the same intent, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), and 846. He

entered into a written plea agreement on July 8, 2021. He pleaded guilty to five counts of

possession with intent to distribute, and the United States agreed to dismiss the remaining counts.

Under the agreement’s terms, if Martin was determined to be a career offender under USSG §

4B1.1 for purposes of sentencing, he retained the right to appeal that finding.

The Pre-Sentence Investigation Report (PSR) generated for sentencing classified Martin as

a career offender based on “at least two prior felony convictions of either a crime of violence or a

controlled substance offense,” USSG § 4B1.1, placing him in criminal category VI with a

guidelines range of 151 to 188 months’ imprisonment. Martin’s two qualifying convictions were

a 2007 conviction for possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (which he does not dispute

was a controlled substance offense under the Guidelines) and a 2008 conviction for attempted

second degree murder in Tennessee. At the time of his conviction, the Tennessee second degree

murder statute defined the offense as: “(1) A knowing killing of another; or (2) A killing of another

that results from the unlawful distribution of any Schedule I or Schedule II drug, when the drug is

the proximate cause of the death of the user.” Tenn. Code § 39-13-210(a) (2008).

Martin objected to the PSR on the grounds that he was not a career offender and should

have been sentenced under a lower Guidelines range. According to Martin, attempted second

degree murder in Tennessee was not a predicate offense for purposes of career offender designation

because it was not categorically a crime of violence. The Government’s response to Martin’s

objections included as exhibits the indictment and judgment in the Tennessee attempted second

-2- No. 22-5278, United States v. Martin

degree murder case, and the probation office filed an addendum to the PSR explaining that Martin

had committed attempted second degree murder by trying to kill someone knowingly, not by

distributing a Schedule I or II drug.

At Martin’s sentencing hearing, the district court concluded that: attempted second degree

murder in Tennessee was a crime of violence under the Guidelines because the statute was divisible

(meaning that it was written disjunctively); documents showed that Martin had been convicted

under the “knowing killing” subsection of the statute; and an attempted knowing killing required

some use of force or attempted use of force. The district court overruled Martin’s objection and

found that he was properly classified as a career offender under USSG § 4B1.1. After calculating

the advisory Guidelines range (151 to 188 months’ imprisonment) and considering the 18 U.S.C.

§ 3553(a) factors, the district court sentenced Martin to 151 months’ imprisonment. Martin timely

appeals, arguing that the district court erred in applying the career offender sentencing

enhancement and that, setting the enhancement aside, the district court imposed an unreasonable

sentence.

II. ANALYSIS

A. Career Offender Classification

Because Martin challenged his career offender classification below, we review de novo the

district court’s determination that his prior conviction is a crime of violence. United States v.

Fields, 53 F.4th 1027, 1035 (6th Cir. 2022). He argues that: (1) the district court erred in

concluding that the Tennessee second degree murder statute is divisible; (2) even if the district

court properly concluded that the statute is divisible, the documents the district court considered

do not support its conclusion that attempted second degree murder is a crime of violence; and

-3- No. 22-5278, United States v. Martin

(3) regardless, United States v. Taylor, 142 S. Ct. 2015 (2022), puts an end to any claim that an

attempt crime can serve as a predicate offense for career offender designation.

Generally, a defendant is considered a career offender under the Sentencing Guidelines if,

among other requirements, he “has at least two prior felony convictions of either a crime of

violence or a controlled substance offense.” USSG § 4B1.1(a). A crime of violence is any felony

that “(1) has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the

person of another,” or (2) is one of a list of enumerated offenses including murder and voluntary

manslaughter. USSG § 4B1.2(a). These two clauses are respectively known as the elements and

enumerated clauses. Because the Guidelines elements clause “mirrors the elements clause in the

Armed Career Criminal Act [ACCA],” “we typically interpret them the same way” and may rely

on ACCA cases in our analysis. United States v. Harris, 853 F.3d 318, 320 (6th Cir. 2017).

In determining whether a state criminal conviction qualifies as a crime of violence, the

court must decide “whether the elements of the offense require that the defendant engage in the

conduct defined” by the Guidelines. United States v. Cavazos, 950 F.3d 329, 335 (6th Cir. 2020)

(emphasis omitted). “This categorical inquiry means we look only to the elements of the offense

set forth in the statute itself, rather than the particular facts of the defendant’s case.” Id. (citing

Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575, 602 (1990)).

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