United States v. Williams
Opinion
This matter is before the court on the appellant's Petition for Panel Rehearing and Rehearing En Banc. Upon consideration, the request for panel rehearing is granted in limited part by the original panel members, and only to the extent of the minor amendments made in the attached revised decision. Panel rehearing is otherwise denied. The clerk is directed to file the revised opinion effective the date of this order.
The Petition was also circulated to all the active judges of the court. See Fed. R. App. P. 35(a). As no judge on the original panel or the en banc court requested that a poll be called, the request for en banc reconsideration is likewise denied.
Mr. Trayon Williams was convicted of possessing a firearm after a felony conviction.
See
Mr. Williams challenges the enhancement on the ground that his prior conviction was not for a crime of violence. Mr. Williams is mistaken. In Kansas, aggravated battery is a crime of violence because the crime involves general criminal intent, requiring the knowing use of force. Thus, we affirm.
I. Mr. Williams's sentence level was enhanced under § 2K2.1.
Following a guilty plea, a probation officer prepared a presentence investigation report for Mr. Williams. The probation officer did not treat aggravated battery as a crime of violence under § 2K2.1 of the sentencing guidelines. As a result, the probation officer calculated the guideline range at 27 to 33 months' imprisonment.
The government objected, arguing that the Kansas crime of aggravated battery constituted a crime of violence. The district court sustained the objection and set the guideline range at 46 to 57 months. 1 Mr. Williams appeals the enhancement under § 2K2.1.
II. We must determine whether aggravated battery in Kansas constitutes a crime of violence.
Section 2K2.1 requires enhancement of the offense level when the defendant has a prior conviction for a "crime of violence." The definition of "crime of violence" appears in § 4B1.2. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 2K2.1, cmt. n.1. There a "crime of violence" is defined as a felony that "has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another." Id. § 4B1.2(a)(1). Focusing on this definition, Mr. Williams argues that his conviction does not constitute a crime of violence.
To address this argument, we engage in de novo review.
See
United States v. Wray
,
Mr. Williams was convicted of "knowingly causing bodily harm to another person with a deadly weapon, or in any manner whereby great bodily harm, disfigurement, or death can be inflicted."
Mr. Williams argues that
• aggravated battery in Kansas cannot constitute a crime of violence because the crime can be committed recklessly and unintentionally and
• causing bodily harm does not have "as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another." U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 4B1.2(a)(1).
Both arguments fail.
III. The mens rea for aggravated battery in Kansas suffices for a crime of violence.
Mr. Williams argues that the mens rea requirement for aggravated battery does not suffice for a crime of violence. For this argument, Mr. Williams asserts that his statute of conviction encompasses conduct that is reckless and unintentional. We reject Mr. Williams's argument.
A. "Knowing" conduct can constitute a "crime of violence" under § 2K2.1.
Under our prior opinions, statutes permitting convictions for reckless conduct do not qualify as crimes of violence under the guidelines.
United States v. Zuniga-Soto
,
United States v. Duran
,
Aggravated battery in Kansas requires "knowing" conduct. See p. 4, above. But we have not yet addressed whether a mens rea of "knowing" can qualify for a crime of violence under the guidelines. We now hold that "knowing" conduct is sufficient for a crime of violence under § 2K2.1.
We have concluded that offenses with a mens rea of "knowing" can constitute violent felonies under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA).
See, e.g.
,
United States v. Hernandez
,
Our ACCA case law supports a similar approach under § 2K2.1. For an aggravated battery in Kansas, the State must prove "that the accused acted when he or she was aware that his or her conduct was reasonably certain to cause the result."
State v. Hobbs
,
B. We reject Mr. Williams's contrary arguments.
Mr. Williams makes two arguments for why a mens rea of "knowing" is not sufficient:
1. Kansas's definition of "knowing" equates to recklessness.
2. Conduct can be "knowing" without intent.
Both arguments fail.
1. Mr. Williams forfeited his argument that Kansas's standard of "knowing" equates to recklessness.
First, Mr. Williams argues that Kansas's definition of "knowing" conduct is indistinguishable from recklessness. We ordinarily define "knowing" conduct as conduct undertaken with an awareness that a particular result "is practically certain."
United States v. Manatau
,
Our local rules require that "[f]or each issue raised on appeal, all briefs must cite the precise reference in the record where the issue was raised and ruled on." 10th Cir. R. 28.2(C)(2). Mr. Williams omitted a record citation for where this issue had been raised or decided in district court, and we have elsewhere declined to consider issues based on similar omissions.
United States v. LaHue
,
But after oral argument, Mr. Williams filed a supplemental letter, stating that he
had
presented the argument in district court. There Mr. Williams cited his response to the government's objection to the presentence report. But Mr. Williams's response had not included an argument that Kansas's definition of "knowing" conduct was equivalent to recklessness. By failing to raise the issue in district court, Mr. Williams forfeited his present argument.
See
United States v. Gould
,
Mr. Williams argues that we should consider the argument anyway because the government did not rely on the forfeiture.
See
United States v. Reider
,
The government's omission leaves us with "dueling 'waivers/forfeitures.' "
United States v. Rodebaugh
,
In deciding how to exercise this discretion, we can (1) weigh the harms from each party's failure to adequately present its argument and (2) consider the adequacy of input from the parties.
See
The weighing process leads us to conclude that Mr. Williams's failure created the greater harm. Because the issue was not raised in district court, neither party briefed the issue there. On appeal Mr. Williams asserts that Kansas's standard of "knowing" equates to recklessness, but he has not identified a single opinion supporting his assertion. Thus, we lack the citation of any supporting opinion on this issue.
We also lack any pertinent case citations from the government, which declined to address the issue, focusing instead on the sufficiency of recklessness for a "crime of violence." Thus, we lack meaningful input from the parties
or
"a reasoned district court decision on the subject."
See
Abernathy
,
We have sometimes considered forfeited arguments that present "a strictly legal question the proper resolution of which is beyond doubt."
Daigle v. Shell Oil Co.
,
We have not addressed this issue in a published opinion, and no other federal court of appeals has expressly addressed this issue. But in an unpublished opinion, we confronted an analogous issue in
Marin-Gonzales v. Sessions
,
* * *
Weighing the relative harms and considering the lack of input from the government and the uncertainty in the resolution, we decline to reach the merits of Mr. Williams's forfeited argument.
2. "Knowing" conduct involves general criminal intent, which suffices for a "crime of violence."
The resulting issue is whether a mens rea of "knowing" is sufficient for a "crime of violence" under the guidelines. The guidelines' reference to a "crime of violence" requires "purposeful or intentional behavior."
United States v. Armijo
,
In Kansas, a crime committed "knowingly" is considered a crime of "general criminal intent."
* * *
The Kansas crime of aggravated battery entails general criminal intent, requiring "knowing" conduct. This requirement is sufficient for a crime of violence under § 2K2.1
IV. Aggravated battery in Kansas includes physical force as an element of the offense.
To constitute a crime of violence, the prior statute of conviction must have "as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another." U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 4B1.2(a)(1) ;
see
p. 3, above. Mr. Williams argues that Kansas's crime of aggravated battery does not require physical force because the crime is triggered whenever "bodily harm" is caused.
We addressed a similar issue in
United States v. Treto-Martinez
,
Mr. Williams contends that
Treto-Martinez
is no longer good law. For this contention, he argues that Kansas's current statute asks only whether an injury was caused and not whether force was used. Mr. Williams points to
United States v. Perez-Vargas
,
But after issuance of the opinion in
Perez-Vargas
, the Supreme Court decided
United States v. Castleman
, holding that a misdemeanor conviction for intentionally or knowingly causing bodily injury to a child's mother constituted a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. --- U.S. ----,
We applied
Castleman
in
United States v. Ontiveros
,
Mr. Williams concedes that "the panel decision in Ontiveros effectively shutters most of [his] second argument." Appellant's Reply Br. at 3 n.1. But Mr. Williams attempts to distinguish Ontiveros , arguing that
• Ontiveros concerned only intentional conduct and
• the Kansas aggravated-battery statute can be violated unintentionally.
We have already addressed this argument: Kansas's crime of aggravated battery requires a mens rea of "knowing" and general criminal intent, which suffice for a crime of violence under the guidelines. Thus, Ontiveros is directly applicable. 6
* * *
The Kansas statute on aggravated battery criminalizes the knowing causation of bodily harm. This element involves the use or threatened use of physical force.
See
United States v. Castleman
, --- U.S. ----,
V. Conclusion
We conclude that Mr. Williams's prior crime of aggravated battery constitutes a crime of violence under § 2K2.1. Aggravated battery requires knowing conduct, which entails general criminal intent and suffices for a crime of violence. In addition, the Kansas statute criminalizes the causation of bodily harm, which requires the use or threatened use of physical force. As a result, the district court properly enhanced Mr. Williams's offense level. We affirm.
After calculating the guideline range, the district court departed downward to 40 months' imprisonment.
The parties have agreed that the Kansas statute on aggravated battery is divisible and that Mr. Williams was convicted under
The Kansas Supreme Court has held that the use of a deadly weapon constitutes a means of committing aggravated battery rather than an element.
State v. Ultreras
,
The government argues that these opinions have been superseded by
Voisine v. United States
, --- U.S. ----,
The section of the prior Kansas statute, addressed in
Treto-Martinez
, had defined aggravated battery as "intentionally causing physical contact with another person when done in a rude, insulting or angry manner with a deadly weapon, or in any manner whereby great bodily harm, disfigurement or death can be inflicted."
Mr. Williams also argues that his conviction is categorically not a crime of violence because the Kansas crime of aggravated battery does not require physical force. This argument fails for the same reasons. The statute requires a finding that the defendant caused bodily harm.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Trayon L. WILLIAMS, Defendant-Appellant.
- Cited By
- 7 cases
- Status
- Published