Opinion ID: 599004
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Base Offense Level Applicable to the Assaults

Text: 17 Luscier asserts that the district court did not apply the correct base offense level to the two assault counts. We review de novo the district court's interpretation of the Sentencing Guidelines. United States v. Blaize, 959 F.2d 850, 851 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 2954, 119 L.Ed.2d 576 (1992). 18 In determining the base offense level, the court should apply the guideline most applicable to the offense of conviction. U.S.S.G. § 1B1.2(a); see United States v. McCall, 915 F.2d 811, 813-15 (2d Cir.1990). According to the Commentary accompanying section 2A2.2,  '[A]ggravated assault' means a felonious assault that involved (a) a dangerous weapon with intent to do bodily harm (i.e., not merely to frighten), or (b) serious bodily injury, or (c) an intent to commit another felony. U.S.S.G. § 2A2.2 commentary app. note 1. Aggravated assaults are assigned a base offense level of fifteen. Felonious assaults that do not fall within the scope of section 2A2.2 are classified as minor assaults. The base offense level for a minor assault with a dangerous weapon is only six. See id. § 2A2.3(a)(1). 19 Luscier pleaded guilty to two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon. The district court categorized the assaults as aggravated and calculated the offense levels in accordance with section 2A2.2 of the guidelines. The government maintains that because Luscier committed the assaults with a dangerous weapon, the district court applied the appropriate offense level. This argument ignores the fact that Luscier's conduct does not satisfy the definition of aggravated assault: Luscier was not found to have committed the assaults with intent to do bodily harm or another felony and the assaults did not result in any kind of bodily injury. That Luscier committed the assaults with a dangerous weapon is not, in itself, justification for classifying them as aggravated. The district court should have applied the base offense level for a minor assault with a dangerous weapon, as provided in section 2A2.3(a)(1).