Whether reckless crimes, like Mr. Ash's Kansas reckless aggravated battery conviction, qualify as crimes of violence under USSG § 4B1.2

QUESTION PRESENTED Dustin Ash has a prior Kansas conviction for reckless aggravated battery. The underlying facts involved Mr. Ash’s reckless driving, which resulted in his vehicle striking a patrol car. More recently, Mr. Ash possessed a firearm, which he cannot do under federal law because he is a felon. He possessed this firearm at an apartment complex in Kansas City, Kansas, just a few miles from the Kansas/Missouri state line. He pleaded guilty to the firearms possession in a Kansas federal court, and the district court found that his prior reckless aggravated battery conviction qualified as a crime of violence under USSG § 4B1.2(a)(1), a finding that ultimately lengthened his term of imprisonment. The Tenth Circuit affirmed, holding that reckless crimes can count as crimes of violence. But had Mr. Ash possessed his firearm just a few miles away in Missouri, his conviction would not have counted as a crime of violence because the Eighth Circuit excludes from § 4B1.2’s reach any reckless crime that covers reckless driving. And five other courts of appeals exclude all reckless crimes as violent crimes. In other words, an extensive and entrenched conflict exists over whether reckless crimes can count as violent crimes. The question presented is: Whether reckless crimes, like Mr. Ash’s Kansas reckless aggravated battery conviction, qualify as crimes of violence under USSG § 4B1.2. 1