Michael David Lister v. United States
DueProcess Securities Privacy JusticiabilityDoctri
Is Texas aggravated assault a violent felony under the Armed Career Criminal Act?
QUESTIONS PRESENTED 1. Is Texas aggravated assault—which can be committed by recklessly causing serious bodily injury—a violent felony under the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)? 2. Texas—like a small handful of other states—has expanded its definition of burglary to include the commission of any felony while trespassing, without requiring proof that the trespasser formed specific intent to commit that other crime. Is this a generic “burglary” offense for purposes of the ACCA? 3. The sentencing court did “not know” whether ACCA should apply; believed the law was “unclear”; and described the ultimate outcome as “a coin flip.” To affirm Petitioner’s ACCA sentence, the Fifth Circuit relied upon two significant shifts in its own interpretation of that statute after the coin-flip sentencing and disregarded the Government’s earlier concession in this very case. Did 18 U.S.C. § 924(e) provide fair warning to Petitioner? i