United States v. Melgar-Cabrera
Opinion
This case arises out of two restaurant robberies in 2009 during one of which Francisco Melgar-Cabrera's cohorts shot and killed a waitress. Mr. Melgar-Cabrera was charged with numerous crimes but was not immediately tried because he fled to El Salvador. He was extradited in 2013 and subsequently convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment pursuant to
*1056
I.
On June 13, 2009, Mr. Melgar-Cabrera and two cohorts robbed a Lone Star Steakhouse at gunpoint. On June 20, the same three men robbed a Denny's restaurant at gunpoint. During the course of this second robbery, one of the men shot and killed Stephanie Anderson, a waitress at the restaurant. On April 4, 2010, the government indicted Mr. Melgar-Cabrera and his co-defendants. The charges against Mr. Melgar-Cabrera stemming from the Lone Star robbery included a count for conspiracy to commit and committing Hobbs Act robbery in violation of
After the robberies, Mr. Melgar-Cabrera fled to El Salvador. The United States requested his extradition on October 2, 2013 for all of the counts listed above. The Supreme Court of Justice of the Republic of El Salvador denied extradition as to both conspiracy counts and both counts involving § 924(c) because it concluded that neither crime was "included in the list of crimes of the Bilateral Extradition Treaty." ROA vol. 1 at 328. Accordingly, the court granted extradition for only two offenses: "committing aggravated murder while using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence and aiding and abetting ... [and] interfer[ing] with interstate commerce by robbery and violence and aiding and abetting."
Once back in the United States, Mr. Melgar-Cabrera filed a motion to dismiss all counts on which the Salvadoran Supreme Court did not grant extradition. The government agreed and filed its own *1057 motion to dismiss. The government explained:
2. Pursuant to the Treaty, the Government of the United States has obligations governed by the Rule of Specialty, as set forth in Article IV of the Treaty, to the effect that a defendant shall not be tried or punished for any crime or offense other than those for which extradition is granted.
3. The Salvadoran Supreme Court extradited Defendant on the offenses charged in Count 4 and Counts 3 and 13 of the Second Superseding Indictment which charge Committing Felony Murder While in Violation of18 U.S.C. §§ 924 (j), 1111, and 2; and Interference with Interstate Commerce by Robbery and Violence and Aiding and Abetting in violation of18 U.S.C. §§ 1951 (a) and 2 respectively.
Id
. at 532-533. The only charges remaining, the government asserted, were two counts of Hobbs Act robbery (one stemming from each robbery) in violation of § 1951(a), and one count "which charges Defendant with Committing Felony Murder While in Violation of
Before trial, Mr. Melgar-Cabrera moved to dismiss the felony murder charge, arguing that Hobbs Act robbery could not serve as a predicate "crime of violence" under § 924(c), which is necessary for a violation of § 924(j). The district court denied his motion and Mr. Melgar-Cabrera was convicted on all three counts. On December 1, 2015, the district court sentenced him to life imprisonment on the § 924(j) felony murder count and twenty years for each Hobbs Act robbery count, to run concurrently. He appeals.
II.
Before we turn to the merits of Mr. Melgar-Cabrera's appeal, we address whether § 924(j) is a separate crime in order to clarify the law in this circuit and to avoid confusion in future cases. We begin with
Confusingly, Congress placed this "discrete crime" in
*1058
Simpson v. United States
,
But another provision under the "Penalties" subheading is § 924(j), which is at the center of this case. It provides that "[a] person who, in the course of a violation of subsection (c), causes the death of a person through the use of a firearm, shall ... if the killing is a murder (as defined in section 1111 ), be punished by death or by imprisonment for any term of years or for life ...."
Although Mr. Melgar-Cabrera was charged with and convicted of violating § 924(j), he never made an objection, either at trial or on appeal, concerning § 924(j) 's status under
Battle
as a sentencing factor rather than a discrete crime. "While this ordinarily constitutes a waiver of the issue ... our case law unquestionably recognizes our inherent power to raise an issue
sua sponte
as plain error under circumstances strongly implying a fundamental defect or error of sufficient magnitude to undermine our confidence that justice was served."
United States v. Santistevan
,
Battle
rested on a shaky foundation from the beginning. There, Mr. Battle was charged with one count of Hobbs Act robbery and one count of causing the death of a person with a firearm during the commission of the robbery, in violation of § 924(c) and § 924(j).
Battle
,
But as the government pointed out in its supplemental brief, Aple. Supp. Br. at 1, 10,
Battle
never discussed, or even cited, the recently decided landmark Supreme Court decision of
Apprendi v. New Jersey
,
The Eleventh Circuit recognized these principles in
United States v. Julian
,
[s]ection 924(j) increases the maximum penalty a defendant may receive beyond the sentence applicable to a defendant *1060 found to have violated only the elements listed in section 924(c). Life imprisonment is the maximum sentence a defendant may receive under section 924(c) for using a firearm in a crime of violence or drug trafficking offense, United States v. Woodruff ,296 F.3d 1041 , 1050 (11th Cir. 2002), but a defendant may receive the death penalty under section 924(j).... The United States appreciated these constitutional implications of the distinction between elements and sentencing factors when it prosecuted Julian. The United States treated as elements all of the facts necessary to convict Julian under section 924(j) because it charged these facts in the indictment and proved them to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt.
The cases cited above persuade us we erred when we held in Battle that § 924(j) was merely a sentencing enhancement rather that a discrete crime. 3
III.
We now turn to the merits of this case. Mr. Melgar-Cabrera contends that Hobbs Act robbery does not qualify as a crime of violence under § 924(c)(3) and his conviction should therefore be vacated. He argues that Hobbs Act robbery fails to categorically constitute a crime of violence under what is sometimes called the statute's elements or force clause, § 924(c)(3)(A).
4
We review de novo the district court's interpretation of § 924(c) and its legal conclusion that a particular offense constitutes a crime of violence.
United States v. Serafin
,
A "crime of violence" is defined as "an offense that is a felony" and
(A) has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another, or
(B) that by its nature, involves a substantial risk that physical force against the person or property of another may be used in the course of committing the offense.
§ 924(c)(3). To determine whether a predicate crime constitutes a crime of violence
*1061
under § 924(c), we employ the categorical approach.
Serafin
,
Under the categorical approach, we look "only to the fact of conviction and the statutory definition of the prior offense, and do not generally consider the particular facts disclosed by the record of conviction. That is, we consider whether the elements of the offense are of the type that would justify its inclusion ... [as a crime of violence], without inquiring into the specific conduct of this particular offender."
The "crime of violence" of which Mr. Melgar-Cabrera was convicted was Hobbs Act robbery, codified in
The term "robbery" means the unlawful taking or obtaining of personal property from the person or in the presence of another, against his will, by means of actual or threatened force, or violence, or fear of injury, immediate or future, to his person or property, or property in his custody or possession, or the person or property of a relative or member of his family or of anyone in his company at the time of the taking or obtaining.
Mr. Melgar-Cabrera makes two arguments for why Hobbs Act robbery fails to constitute a crime of violence under § 924(c)(3)(A). First, he asserts that the term "force" as used in the definition of robbery in
A. "Force" in § 924(c)(3)(A)
Before we can address whether Hobbs Act robbery requires violent force, we must first determine whether § 924(c)(3)(A) requires violent force. There are several federal statutes that employ the same language as § 924(c) 's force clause.
See, e.g.
,
In 2010, the Supreme Court was tasked with determining the meaning of the words "physical force" as used in
The Court listed several reasons for coming to this conclusion but the main reason was that the word "force" was being used in the statutory definition of "violent" felony. "Even by itself," the Court noted, "the word 'violent' in § 924(e)(2)(B) connotes a substantial degree of force."
The Court faced a similar issue five years later in
United States v. Castleman
, --- U.S. ----,
has, as an element, the use or attempted use of physical force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon, committed by a current or former spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim, by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common, by a person who is cohabiting with or has cohabited with the victim as a spouse, parent, or guardian, or by a person similarly situated to a spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim.
The government alleged that Mr. Castleman's misdemeanor crime of domestic violence (i.e., his predicate crime for a conviction under § 922(g) ) was a conviction in 2001 for " 'intentionally or knowingly caus[ing] bodily injury to' the mother of his child, in violation of
*1063 The Supreme Court granted certiorari and reversed. In so doing, the Court applied the exact argument that it rejected in Johnson I , concluding that Congress "incorporated the common-law meaning of 'force'-namely, offensive touching-in § 921(a)(33)(A) 's definition of a 'misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.' " Id . at 1410. It distinguished Johnson I as follows:
In Johnson, we considered whether a battery conviction was a "violent felony" under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), § 924(e)(1). As here, ACCA defines such a crime as one that "has as an element the use ... of physical force," § 924(e)(2)(B)(i). We began by observing that at common law, the element of force in the crime of battery was "satisfied by even the slightest offensive touching."559 U.S., at 139 ,130 S.Ct. 1265 (citing 3 W. Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 120 (1768)). And we recognized the general rule that "a common-law term of art should be given its established common-law meaning," except "where that meaning does not fit."559 U.S., at 139 ,130 S.Ct. 1265 . We declined to read the common-law meaning of "force" into ACCA's definition of a "violent felony," because we found it a "comical misfit with the defined term."Id., at 145 ,130 S.Ct. 1265 ; see United States v. Stevens,559 U.S. 460 , 474,130 S.Ct. 1577 ,176 L.Ed.2d 435 (2010) ("[A]n unclear definitional phrase may take meaning from the term to be defined"). In defining a " ' violent felony,' " we held, "the phrase 'physical force' " must "mea[n] violent force." Johnson,559 U.S., at 140 ,130 S.Ct. 1265 . But here, the common-law meaning of "force" fits perfectly: The very reasons we gave for rejecting that meaning in defining a "violent felony" are reasons to embrace it in defining a "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence."
Turning to the Tennessee statute, the Court held that it was divisible, applied the modified categorical approach, and determined that Mr. Castleman pled guilty to having "intentionally or knowingly cause[d] bodily injury to the mother of his child."
Id.
at 1414 (internal quotations omitted). After reasoning that "[u]nder Tennessee law, 'bodily injury' is a broad term: It 'includes a cut, abrasion, bruise, burn or disfigurement; physical pain or temporary illness or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty,' "
id.
(quoting
Castleman and Johnson I demonstrate that before a court can determine *1064 whether a predicate crime falls within a particular statute's elements clause, it must first determine whether the statute's use of the word "force" requires "violent force," as Johnson I determined was the case for § 924(e)(2)(B)(i), or instead whether it requires the common-law meaning of force, as Castleman determined was the situation in § 921(a)(33)(A). The statute at issue in this case, § 924(c)(3)(A), defines the term "crime of violence" as "an offense that is a felony" and "has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another ...." The Supreme Court has not yet defined the word "force" in § 924(c)(3)(A), and, surprisingly, neither have we. We turn to that question.
We conclude that the word "force" as used in § 924(c)(3)(A) means "violent force," just as the Court held in
Johnson I
in regard to § 924(e)(2)(B)(i). The similarities between the two statutes are obvious. Both contain a form of the word "violent" (i.e., "crime of violence" and "violent felony"), and the Court has determined that "the word 'violent' ... connotes a substantial degree of force."
Johnson I
, 559 U.S. at 140,
B. Does Hobbs Act Robbery Require Violent Force?
Mr. Melgar-Cabrera contends that Hobbs Act robbery can be committed with mere offensive touching, a degree of force below that which is required of § 924(c), and that it therefore does not qualify as a "crime of violence" under § 924(c)(3)(A). We disagree. While Mr. Melgar-Cabrera is correct in his assertion that Hobbs Act robbery is defined as common-law robbery that affects interstate commerce,
see
United States v. Peterson
,
On the contrary, the force element of robbery has traditionally been identified with strong or violent force. See 3 Edward Coke, Institutes *68 (defining robbery as "a felony by the common law, committed by a violent assault, upon the person of another, by putting him in fear, and taking from his person his money or other goods of any value whatsoever"); 4 William Blackstone, Commentaries *241 (defining robbery as "the felonious and forcible taking, from the person of another, of goods or money to any value, by violence or putting him in fear"); see also, e.g ., McCloskey v. People, 5 Parker's Crim. 299, 307 (N.Y.Sup.Ct. 1862) ("The property must be taken by violence to the person, *1065 which means more than a simple assault and battery."). Nor has this common law meaning changed in the intervening centuries. See Black's 1443 (9th ed. 2009) (defining robbery as "[t]he illegal taking of property from the person of another, or in the person's presence, by violence or intimidation"); id. at 717 (defining "physical force" as "[f]orce consisting in a physical act, esp[ecially] a violent act directed against a robbery victim.").
United States v. Pena
,
We faced a similar issue in
Harris
,
C. "Fear of Injury" in Hobbs Act Robbery
Mr. Melgar-Cabrera's second argument, to which he devotes only one paragraph in his brief, is that "Hobbs Act robbery can be committed by causing the victim to part with his property due to 'fear of injury' " and robbery by such means does not require as an element the use or attempted use of violent physical force. Aplt. Br. at 15. For this argument, Mr. Melgar-Cabrera relies on
United States v. Perez-Vargas
,
As we recognized in
United States v. Ontiveros
,
[U]se of force ... is not the act of sprinkling the poison; it is the act of employing poison knowingly as a device to cause physical harm. That the harm occurs indirectly, rather than directly (as with a kick or punch), does not matter. Under [petitioner's] logic, after all, one could say that pulling the trigger on a gun is not a use of force because it is the bullet, not the trigger, that actually strikes the victim.
Ontiveros
,
To be sure, Castleman did not construe ACCA's force clause, and it expressly reserved the question of whether the causation of "bodily injury," a term defined broadly under Tennessee law, would "necessitate violent force under Johnson's definition of that phrase" in ACCA.134 S.Ct. at 1414 . But the *1066 Court's formal reservation does not foreclose application of the relevant aspects of its reasoning, which did not rest on any distinction between § 922(g)(9) and ACCA's force clause, § 924(e)(2)(B)(i). Indeed, the Court relied significantly on Johnson in rejecting a proffered limitation on the term "physical force." See Castleman ,134 S.Ct. at 1414 ("[A]s we explained in Johnson , 'physical force' is simply 'force exerted by and though concrete bodies' "); cf.id. at 1416-17 (Scalia, J., concurring in part and concurring in the judgment) ("[I]t is impossible to cause bodily injury without using force 'capable of' producing that result"). Accordingly, by applying the combination of Johnson and Castleman , we conclude that ACCA's phrase "use of physical force" includes force applied directly or indirectly.
Id.
at 537-38 (quoting
United States v. Reid
,
Because the terms "physical force" as used in both § 924(c) and § 924(e)(2)(B)(i) are identical, we apply
Ontiveros
to this case. To the extent Mr. Melgar-Cabrera contends that committing Hobbs Act robbery by putting someone in fear of injury does not necessarily constitute the threatened use of physical force because it can be done through indirect force,
Ontiveros
has foreclosed his argument.
See
United States v. Hill
,
Accordingly, we affirm.
Section 924(j) provides that "[a] person who, in the course of a violation of [§ 924 (c) ], causes the death of a person through the use of a firearm, shall ... if the killing is a murder (as defined in section 1111), be punished by death or by imprisonment for any term of years or for life."
Fortunately, the government in the present case treated § 924(j) as a discrete crime as well when it charged the relevant facts in the indictment as elements of a crime. See ROA vol. 1 at 33-34. In addition, the district court instructed the jury that the government was required to prove those elements beyond a reasonable doubt. Compare District Court's Jury Instructions on § 924(j), ROA vol. 1 at 971, with Tenth Circuit Criminal Pattern Jury Instruction 2.45 (the pattern instructions for a violation of § 924(c) ).
"A panel decision may overrule a point of law established by a prior panel through an en banc footnote by obtaining authorization from all active judges on the court."
United States v. Atencio
,
Mr. Melgar-Cabrera alternatively argues that the statute's residual clause, § 924(c)(3)(B), is void for vagueness under the Supreme Court's decision in
Johnson v. United States
(
Johnson II
), --- U.S. ----,
The government contends that Mr. Melgar-Cabrera did not preserve this argument and that we should review only for plain error. Because we conclude that the district court did not err, we need not determine whether this argument was properly preserved.
Cf.
United States v. Flonnory
,
The Court noted that Justice Scalia, in his concurrence, believed that the forms of injury listed in the relevant Tennessee statute "necessitate[d] violent force, under
Johnson's
definition of that phrase."
We note that one of our recent cases seems to be at odds with our conclusion here. In
United States v. O'Connor
,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Francisco MELGAR-CABRERA, Defendant-Appellant.
- Cited By
- 112 cases
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- Published