Murderous Schemes Are Not Violent Crimes? (CRS Report for Congress)
| Release Date |
Revised April 17, 2018 |
| Report Number |
LSB10120 |
| Report Type |
Legal Sidebar |
| Authors |
Charles Doyle |
| Source Agency |
Congressional Research Service |
| Older Revisions |
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Summary:
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (Fourth Circuit) recently held in U.S. v. McCollum that
conspiracy to murder is not a violent crime for federal sentencing purposes. The comments of a
concurring judge seem to capture the frustration of the panel with the result: “The dissent ends with the …
lament, ‘Heaven help us.’ Frankly, I would be satisfied if Congress or the Supreme Court would help us.
The law in this area, which Judge Duncan faithfully follows, leads to some seemingly odd results with
which I do not think any of us are particularly happy.”
The case marks the latest judicial effort to identify what constitutes a crime of violence for purposes of
federal law. The task has been complicated by the multiplicity of state statutes that often serve as
predicates for federal sentencing enhancements. Congress has made adjustments. For example, it
established a general definition to permit uniform application through the federal criminal code, 18 U.S.C.
§ 16. Yet the difficulties persist.
The Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA) is primarily responsible for the more than a dozen instances
when the Supreme Court has addressed the “violent crime” question. The ACCA calls for a 15-year
mandatory minimum term of imprisonment for those convicted of unlawful firearm possession that have
three or more prior federal or state serious drug felony or violent felony convictions. A felony is an
ACCA “violent felony” if it qualifies under any of the three categories of offenses. One category includes
crimes that involve the actual, attempted, or threatened use of physical force against another individual. A
second consists of specific crimes, such as burglary, arson, and extortion. A third, the so-called residual
clause, encompasses offenses that “otherwise involve[] conduct that presents a serious potential risk of
physical injury to another.”
