United States v. Voisine

778 F.3d 176, 2015 WL 409150
CourtCourt of Appeals for the First Circuit
DecidedFebruary 2, 2015
Docket12-1213, 12-1216
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 778 F.3d 176 (United States v. Voisine) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the First 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. Voisine, 778 F.3d 176, 2015 WL 409150 (1st Cir. 2015).

Opinions

[177]*177LYNCH, Chief Judge.

The Supreme Court has directed us, in light of United States v. Castleman, — U.S. -, 134 S.Ct. 1405, 188 L.Ed.2d 426 (2014), to consider again our decision in these two cases that both defendants had indeed been convicted under state law of “misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence,” as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(33)(A), even though the state statutes allowed conviction based on a recklessness mens rea. Armstrong v. United States, — U.S. -, 134 S.Ct. 1759, 188 L.Ed.2d 590 (2014) (Mem.); see United States v. Armstrong, 706 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2013); United States v. Voisine, 495 Fed. Appx. 101 (1st Cir.2013) (per curiam). If so, then their motions to dismiss their federal charges for possessing firearms after such convictions, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), were properly denied.

Our answer is informed by congressional recognition in § 922(g)(9) of the special risks posed by firearm possession by domestic abusers. “Domestic violence often escalates in severity over time ... and the presence of a firearm increases the likelihood that it will escalate to homicide.... ” Castleman, 134 S.Ct. at 1408. It is also informed by the congressional choice in the federal sentencing scheme to honor each state’s choice as to how to define its own crimes, through statutory text and judicial decision.

As we see it, this case turns on the unique nature of § 922(g)(9). That section is meant to ensure that individuals who engage in the “seemingly minor act[s]” that actually constitute domestic violence, like squeezing and shoving, may not possess a firearm. Castleman, 134 S.Ct. at 1412. This range of predicate acts is broader than that found in other federal prohibitions involving the use of physical force. Applying the teachings of Castle-man, we find that Maine’s definition of reckless assault fits within § 922(g)(9).

We affirm the denial of the motion to dismiss the indictment and information here. That means the conditional guilty pleas the defendants entered are valid and their sentences stand. The question is close and we rule narrowly.

I.

A. Statutory Background

As the Supreme Court observed in Cas- ■ tleman, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9) was enacted to close a loophole. “While felons had long been barred from possessing guns, many perpetrators of domestic violence are convicted only of misdemeanors.”. Castleman, 134 S.Ct. at 1409. No ban prevented those domestic abusers from possessing firearms, yet there is a “sobering” connection between domestic violence and homicide. Id. The “manifest purpose” of § 922(g)(9), the Lautenberg Amendment to the Gun Control Act of 1968, was to remedy the “potentially deadly combination” of “[fjire-arms and domestic strife.” United States v. Hayes, 555 U.S. 415, 426-27, 129 S.Ct. 1079, 172 L.Ed.2d 816 (2009).

Under § 922(g)(9), it is against federal law for any person “who has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence” to “possess in or affecting commerce[] any firearm or ammunition.” In turn, a “misdemeanor crime of domestic violence” is defined in § 921(a)(33)(A) as an offense that (1) is a misdemeanor under federal, state, or tribal law, and (2) “has, as an element, the use or attempted use of physical force ... committed by a current or former spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim” or by a person in a similar domestic relationship with the victim..

The predicate offenses in these cases are convictions under Maine assault statutes. [178]*178Me.Rev.Stat. Ann. tit. 17-A, §§ 207(1)(A), 207-A(l)(A). Under Maine law, a “person is guilty of assault if[ t]he person intentionally, knowingly or recklessly causes bodily injury or offensive physical contact to another person.” Id. § 207(1)(A). A violation of § 207 constitutes misdemeanor domestic violence assault if the “victim is a family or household member.” Id. § 207-A(1)(A).

Maihe law explains that “[a] person acts recklessly with respect to a result of the person’s conduct when the person consciously disregards a risk that the person’s conduct will cause such a result.” Id. § 35(3)(A). The statute goes on to give more meat to the “conscious disregard” definition. It refers to disregard of a risk, “when viewed in light of the nature and purpose of the person’s conduct and the circumstances known to that person,” that “involve[s] a gross deviation from the standard of conduct that a reasonable and prudent person would observe in the same situation.” Id. § 35(3)(C).

B. Facts

William E. Armstrong III was convicted in 2002 and 2008 of assaulting his wife in violation of Maine’s misdemeanor assault statutes, Me.Rev.Stat. Ann. tit. 17-A §§ 207(1)(A), 207-A(l)(A). In May 2010, twenty-nine months after the last domestic assault conviction, the Maine State Police searched the Armstrong residence for drug paraphernalia and marijuana. They discovered six firearms and ammunition. The police notified the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), which executed a search. That search uncovered only ammunition, but Armstrong later explained that he had arranged for a friend to remove the guns. ATF agents observed the guns at the friend’s home.

Armstrong was arrested and federally charged with being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, in violation of § 922(g)(9). The indictment listed Armstrong’s 2008 domestic violence assault conviction as the predicate offense.

Stephen L. Voisine was convicted in 2003 and 2005 of assaulting a woman with whom he was in a domestic relationship, in violation of Maine’s assault statute. In 2009, acting on an anonymous tip, state and local law enforcement officials arrested Voisine on the federal misdemeanor charge of killing a bald eagle in violation of 16 U.S.C. § 668(a). When conducting a background check, they discovered his 2003 misdemeanor simple assault. As Voi-sine had turned a rifle over to the police during the investigation, the criminal information charged him with violating § 922(g)(9) as well as § 668(a).

C. Procedural History

Both Armstrong and Voisine moved to dismiss, arguing that their indictment and information did not charge a federal offense and that § 922(g)(9) violated the Constitution. The district court denied the motions, and both defendants entered guilty pleas conditioned on the right to appeal the district court’s decision.1

We consolidated Armstrong and Voi-sine’s cases. In a January 18, 2013 opinion, we affirmed the district court’s decisions. Armstrong, 706 F.3d at 1; see Voisine, 495 Fed.Appx. at 102 (incorporating the reasoning from Armstrong as [179]*179there were “no pertinent factual differences” distinguishing the two cases).

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Bluebook (online)
778 F.3d 176, 2015 WL 409150, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-voisine-ca1-2015.