modified-categorical-approach

40 cases — ← All topics

Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25-6332 Ángel Forteza-García v. United States First Circuit 2025-12-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP aiding-abetting appellate-review crime-of-violence mail-offense modified-categorical-approach sentencing-enhancement I. Does aiding and abetting a mail offense pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2114(a) constitute a crime of violence for purposes of serving as a predicate offen…
25-6330 Jose M. Rojas-Tapia v. United States First Circuit 2025-12-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP aiding-and-abetting appellate-review crime-of-violence mail-offense modified-categorical-approach sentencing-enhancement I. Does aiding and abetting a mail offense pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 2114(a) constitute a crime of violence for purposes of serving as a predicate offen…
25-5334 Billy Joe Russell v. United States Fifth Circuit 2025-08-13 Denied Response WaivedIFP categorical-approach circuit-split criminal-law modified-categorical-approach prior-conviction statutory-interpretation Whether a defendant challenging a prior state conviction under the categorical or modified categorical approaches must produce actual state court deci…
24-5484 Irvin Abreu v. United States First Circuit 2024-09-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP categorical-approach circuit-split divisibility modified-categorical-approach sentencing-enhancement state-law-interpretation Whether a federal court may reject state appellate authority in determining a state statute's divisibility under the categorical approach and whether …
24-5040 Juan Alberto Ortiz-Orellana v. United States Fourth Circuit 2024-07-10 Denied Relisted (2)IFP attempted use but can be committed by accidental means or by fa has as an element the use or threatened use of physical force bodily-injury crime-of-violence felony-murder force-clause mens-rea modified-categorical-approach physical-force premeditated-murder use-of-force Whether a crime that requires proof of bodily injury or death, but can be committed by accidental means or by failing to take action, has as an elemen…
23-7021 Darron Henderson v. United States Third Circuit 2024-03-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP categorical-approach divisibility federal-courts mathis-standard modified-categorical-approach state-law statutory-construction third-circuit-test Whether the Third Circuit's test for divisibility is consistent with Mathis
23-6702 Nardino Colotti, et al. v. United States Second Circuit 2024-02-08 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP categorical-approach circuit-split crime-of-violence criminal-law divisibility modified-categorical-approach racketeering-activity rico rico-statute state-law-offenses Whether RICO incorporates state-law elements or only generic offense categories
23-5852 Kareem Davis v. United States Second Circuit 2023-10-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-1959 18-usc-924c categorical-analysis categorical-approach circuit-split crime-of-violence modified-categorical-approach racketeering statutory-interpretation Is murder in aid of racketeering (VICAR murder) an indivisible offense requiring a categorical analysis based on the generic federal definition of mur…
22-6836 Robert Speed v. United States Second Circuit 2023-02-22 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-924(c) categorical-approach circuit-split crime-of-violence divisible-statute modified-categorical-approach racketeering-activity rico-statute statutory-interpretation Whether RICO is a 'crime of violence' under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(A)
21-8062 Bryant Love v. United States Seventh Circuit 2022-06-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-924 armed-career-criminal-act categorical-approach criminal-sentencing federal-sentencing modified-categorical-approach sentencing-enhancement state-supreme-court statutory-interpretation violent-felony When applying the categorical and modified categorical approach sentencing courts are instructed to use a state's statutory definition to determine if…
21-6825 Diana Bustamante v. United States Eighth Circuit 2022-01-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP career-offender categorical-approach circuit-split controlled-substance controlled-substances criminal-law modified-categorical-approach predicate-offenses sentencing-enhancement sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation Do statutes criminalizing simulated controlled substances count as predicate 'controlled substance offenses' for applicability of the career offender …
21-6524 Joshua James Mjoness v. United States Tenth Circuit 2021-12-06 Denied Response WaivedIFP charging-language crime-of-violence criminal-law mathis-precedent modified-categorical-approach predicate-offense sentencing sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation Whether a court may place determinative weight on the government's charging language when applying the modified categorical approach under Mathis v. U…
21-6234 Edward Stain v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-11-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP aiding-and-abetting conviction crimes-of-violence criminal-law hobbs-act-robbery modified-categorical-approach predicate-offense section-924c shepard-documents statutory-interpretation Whether a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) is unconstitutional when the Shepard documents do not clearly establish that a jury unanimously based it…
21-6231 Christopher Lee Scott v. United States Fourth Circuit 2021-11-10 Denied Response WaivedIFP categorical-approach controlled-substance controlled-substance-offenses divisibility fourth-circuit-review modified-categorical-approach precedent remand sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation Whether S.C. Code §§ 44-53-370 and 44-53-375(B) are divisible into three offenses
21-482 Hassan Sharif Ali, aka Big Hassan v. United States Fourth Circuit 2021-09-30 Denied Response Waived categorical-approach crime-of-violence criminal-procedure due-process jury-verdict modified-categorical-approach predicate-offense statutory-interpretation united-states-code united-states-v-davis Whether a court must apply the modified categorical approach to determine whether a verdict of conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) necessarily rests o…
20-8053 William Leroy Sanders v. United States Eighth Circuit 2021-05-18 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP armed-career-criminal armed-career-criminal-act iowa-interference-with-official-acts johnson-precedent mathis-analysis mathis-v-united-states modified-categorical-approach residual-clause section-2255 sentencing statutory-overbreadth violent-felony Whether Mr. Sanders was improperly denied 28 U.S.C. § 2255 relief from his fifteen-year Armed Career Criminal Sentence
20-7126 Dominic Anthony Davis, et al. v. United States Ninth Circuit 2021-02-11 Denied Relisted (2)IFP 18-usc-924c aiding-and-abetting armed-bank-robbery circuit-split fact-based-harmless-error-review harmless-error jury-verdict modified-categorical-approach predicate-offense section-924c shepard-documents Where an 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) conviction rests on more than one possible predicate offense, the Shepard documents must conclusively establish that a jur…
20-6084 Laron J. Wainwright v. United States Eighth Circuit 2020-10-20 Denied Response WaivedIFP almendarez-torres-v-united-states armed-career-criminal-act judicial-records jury-trial modified-categorical-approach prior-convictions sentencing sentencing-enhancement sixth-amendment Whether the Sixth Amendment permits a sentencing court to find that a defendant's prior convictions were committed on different occasions based on non…
19-7972 Javier Brown v. United States Fourth Circuit 2020-03-12 Denied Response WaivedIFP 4b1.1 career-offender categorical-approach drug-offense fourth-circuit modified-categorical-approach predicate-drug-offense prior-conviction records-of-conviction sentencing-guidelines sentencing-guidelines-4b1.1 south-carolina-code Whether the Fourth Circuit violated the parameters set forth by this Court by using the modified categorical approach instead of the categorical appro…
19-7965 Cedric Edney v. United States Fifth Circuit 2020-03-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP categorical-approach controlled-substance-offense controlled-substances criminal-law fifth-circuit-interpretation mathis-standard mathis-v-united-states modified-categorical-approach sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation taylor-precedent taylor-v-united-states u-s-s-g-section-4b1-2-b Did the Fifth Circuit Err in deciding as an issue of first impression, that Texas offenses of Distribution of controlled substances and possession wit…
19-7706 Tommy Adams, Jr. v. United States Fourth Circuit 2020-02-19 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP career-offender career-offender-guideline controlled-substance controlled-substance-offense controlled-substances criminal-law fourth-circuit modified-categorical-approach sentencing sentencing-guidelines statutory-interpretation taylor-descamps-mathis-precedent taylor-v-united-states Did the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals incorrectly apply the line of authority from this Court beginning with Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575 (…
19-7326 Jimmy Lee Allred v. United States Fourth Circuit 2020-01-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-1513 18-usc-924 armed-career-criminal-act bodily-injury categorical-approach modified-categorical-approach taylor-v-united-states violent-felony violent-force witness-retaliation when-to-use-categorical-approach
19-7307 Julian Moz-Aguilar v. United States Third Circuit 2020-01-16 Denied Response WaivedIFP categorical-approach conduct-based-inquiry crime-of-violence elements-clause force-requirement johnson-v-united-states modified-categorical-approach physical-force sentencing-court Whether a sentencing court may consider a defendant's actual conduct in determining if an offense qualifies as a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. § 9…
19-6939 Anthony Scott Hunt v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-12-13 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2)IFP base-offense-level categorical-approach controlled-substance-offense divisibility drug-statute modified-categorical-approach predicate-offense sentencing-guidelines u.s.s.g-§-4b1.2(b) u.s.s.g.-§-2k2.1(a)(4)(a) u.s.s.g.-§-4b1.2(b) Whether a state drug statute that is either (1) completely indivisible or (2) at most only generally divisible into no more than three separate offens…
19-6418 Wayne Neville Morris v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-10-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP certificate-of-appealability constructive-amendment criminal-procedure criminal-procedure-error due-process fatal-variance fifth-amendment modified-categorical-approach rule-of-lenity sixth-amendment Whether a conviction based on an erroneous legal theory can be sustained when the petitioner presents clear and convincing evidence that the accused, …
19-438 Clemente Avelino Pereida v. Robert M. Wilkinson, Acting Attorney General Eighth Circuit 2019-10-02 Judgment Issued Amici (5) ambiguous-record burden-of-proof categorical-approach circuit-split conviction-record federal-offense immigration-law modified-categorical-approach noncitizen-status removal-proceedings statutory-interpretation Whether a criminal conviction bars a noncitizen from applying for relief from removal when the record of conviction is merely ambiguous as to whether …
19-6037 John Anzures v. United States Tenth Circuit 2019-09-24 Denied Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP armed-career-criminal-act categorical-approach commercial-burglary generic-burglary johnson-motion johnson-v-united-states modified-categorical-approach residual-clause sentencing-enhancement stitt-v-united-states taylor-v-united-states Whether a commercial burglary conviction under New Mexico law categorically does not qualify as a violent felony under the Armed Career Criminal Act's…
19-5089 Clifford B. Gandy, Jr. v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-07-05 Denied IFP categorical-approach crime-of-violence divisible-offense divisible-statute modified-categorical-approach nolo-contendere physical-force plea-bargaining sentencing-guidelines shepard-documents Where a divisible offense may be committed two ways, one of which satisfies the 'crime of violence' element of physical force, and one of which does n…
19-5085 Darren L. Lee v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2019-07-05 Denied Relisted (2)IFP criminal-procedure divisible-offense federal-sentencing full-faith-and-credit modified-categorical-approach physical-force plea-bargain sentencing shepard-documents united-states-v-horse-looking violent-felony Where a divisible offense may be committed two ways, one of which satisfies the 'violent felony' element of physical force, and one of which does not,…
18-9618 Rafael Mata-Jimenez v. United States Ninth Circuit 2019-06-11 Denied Response WaivedIFP ambiguous-record burden-of-proof categorical-approach deportation immigration-law modified-categorical-approach noncitizen-status record-of-conviction relief-from-removal removal-proceedings Whether a criminal conviction bars a noncitizen from applying for relief from removal when the record of conviction is merely ambiguous as to whether …
18-1378 Michael Ledet v. Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections Louisiana 2019-05-02 Denied Response Waived age-element categorical-approach circumstance-specific-approach constitutional-comparison due-process federal-state-comparison fifth-amendment fourteenth-amendment modified-categorical-approach sex-offender-registration sorna Whether the constitutional due process requirements that apply to a federal agency or federal court comparing the elements of state and federal offens…
18-9106 Daqone Lentell Williams v. United States Sixth Circuit 2019-05-02 Denied Response WaivedIFP career-offender career-offender-predicate felony-complaints modified-categorical-analysis modified-categorical-approach prior-conviction sentencing-court sentencing-court-consideration sentencing-guidelines shepard-analysis shepard-v-united-states sixth-amendment unadopted-assertions Whether a sentencing court may consider felony complaints, with unadopted assertions, under Shepard v. United States, 544 U.S. 13 (2005), when that co…
18-8654 Karyea Williams v. United States Fourth Circuit 2019-04-01 Denied Response WaivedIFP categorical-approach collateral-review descamps mathis Mathis-retroactivity mathis-v-united-states modified-categorical-approach retroactivity sentencing sentencing-guidelines teague Teague-exception Did the Court of Appeals err in dismissing the appeal on Mathis applicability to Karyea Williams on collateral review?
18-7096 Reinaldo Santos v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-12-19 GVR Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (4)IFP acca acca-violent-felony armed-career-criminal-act battery categorical-approach circuit-split descamps divisibility florida florida-battery mathis mens-rea modified-categorical-approach sixth-amendment violent-felony Is the 'touches or strikes' language in the Florida battery statutes divisible under Descamps v. United States and Mathis v. United States, permitting…
18-7067 Derrick Christopher Johnson v. United States Eighth Circuit 2018-12-17 Denied Response WaivedIFP career-offender criminal-law divisible-statute drug-offense modified-categorical-approach plain-error prior-state-convictions sentencing sentencing-guidelines Whether petitioner's prior state drug offenses qualified as enumerated offenses under the career criminal provision of the United States Sentencing Gu…
18-7036 Frank Richardson v. United States Sixth Circuit 2018-12-14 GVR Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (2)IFP 18-usc-16b 18-usc-924c aiding-and-abetting categorical-approach circuit-split crime-of-violence criminal-law due-process hobbs-act hobbs-act-robbery modified-categorical-approach statutory-interpretation vagueness-doctrine void-for-vagueness Whether the residual clause of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(B) is unconstitutionally vague
18-6495 Richard Anthony Trent v. United States Tenth Circuit 2018-10-30 Denied Response WaivedIFP armed-career-criminal-act circuit-split demand-for-certainty divisibility divisible-statute federal-courts federal-statute-interpretation mathis-v-united-states modified-categorical-approach state-law-materials statutory-interpretation Is the demand for certainty satisfied where, after a survey of relevant, state-law materials, the federal court can only say what is 'suggestive' and …
18-5274 Manuel Vega v. United States Ninth Circuit 2018-07-19 Denied Response WaivedIFP california-health-and-safety-code-11378 categorical-approach controlled-substance controlled-substance-offense criminal-conviction divisible-statute drug-offense federal-sentencing federal-sentencing-guideline mathis-v-united-states modified-categorical-approach sentencing-enhancement state-court-decision Whether a court fulfills the mandate of Mathis v. United States if it looks only to whether a state defendant can be punished more than once for posse…
18-5056 Joshua D. Bouziden v. United States Tenth Circuit 2018-06-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP 18-usc-924e armed-career-criminal-act criminal-sentencing divisibility juror-unanimity modified-categorical-approach predicate-conviction prior-conviction sentencing-enhancement statutory-interpretation Whether a predicate prior conviction under the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. § 924(e), is divisible for purposes of the modified categorical ap…
18-5033 Johnny L. Dawson v. United States Eleventh Circuit 2018-06-29 Denied Response WaivedIFP armed-career-criminal-act categorical-approach criminal-sentencing due-process eleventh-circuit modified-categorical-approach prior-convictions prior-offenses sentencing sentencing-enhancement sentencing,criminal-law,statutory-interpretation statutory-interpretation Whether the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals erred in holding Petitioner's prior offenses qualified him under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 1…