Source: https://case-law.vlex.com/vid/united-states-v-gracia-774726225
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 20:29:21+00:00

Document:
Party Name: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. JOSE PRISCILIANO GRACIA-CANTU, Defendant-Appellant.
Judge Panel: Before KING, ELROD, and GRAVES, Circuit Judges.
Before KING, ELROD, and GRAVES, Circuit Judges.
We WITHDRAW our prior panel opinion and SUBSTITUTE this opinion. Jose Prisciliano Gracia-Cantu appeals the district court's determination that a conviction under Texas Penal Code §§ 22.01(a)(1) and (b)(2) for "Assault - Family Violence" qualifies as a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. § 16, and is therefore an aggravated felony for purposes of 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(F) and U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(C). Consistent with our recent en banc decision in United States v. Reyes-Contreras, 910 F.3d 169 (5th Cir. 2018) (en banc), we hold that a conviction under Texas Penal Code §§ 22.01(a)(1) and (b)(2) falls within the definition of a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. § 16(a). We therefore AFFIRM Gracia-Cantu's sentence.
Section 16(a) defines a "crime of violence" as "an offense that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another." 18 U.S.C. § 16(a). We recently explained en banc that this definition does not include a "directness-of-force requirement." Reyes-Contreras, 910 F.3d at 183. Even indirect applications of force will do. Instead, all that this definition requires is that the statute of prior conviction criminalize only conduct that: (1) is committed intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly; and (2) "employs a force capable of causing physical pain or injury"; (3) against the person of another. Id. at 183, 185; see also United States v. De La Rosa, No. 17-10487, 2019 WL 177958, at *3 (5th Cir. Jan. 11, 2019) (unpublished).

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