Lavell Phillips v. United States
HabeasCorpus
Where a completed offense satisfies the ACCA's elements clause, does the attempted commission of that offense necessarily do so as well?
QUESTION PRESENTED Under the Armed Career Criminal Act (“ACCA”), a “violent felony” is defined as, inter alia, a felony that “has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another.” 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)(i). Here, the Eleventh Circuit held that the Florida offense of attempted first-degree murder satisfied that definition. It broadly reasoned that because completed first-degree murder satisfied that definition, an attempt to commit that offense did so as well because it necessarily required the “attempted use” of physical force. The question presented is: Where a completed offense satisfies the ACCA’s elements clause, does the attempted commission of that offense necessarily do so as well? i