Opinion ID: 8410531
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Legal Provisions at Issue in This Appeal

Text: This appeal involves the interplay between substantive state criminal law and the federal Sentencing Guidelines (“Guidelines”). The question we face is straightforward: is first-degree robbery in New York, defined in New York Penal Law §§ 160.00 and 160.15, however it may be committed, categorically a crime of violence under the Career Offender Guideline? A defendant commits robbery in New York when he “forcibly steals property,” which the statute defines as “a larceny” involving the use or threatened “immediate use of physical force upon another person.” N.Y. Penal Law § 160.00. The various degrees of robbery, which carry different penalties, turn upon the presence of particular aggravating factors. Compare § 160.05 (defining third-degree robbery), with § 160.10 (defining second-degree robbery), and with § 160.15 (defining first-degree robbery). First-degree robbery occurs when a defendant commits robbery and during the course of the crime or his immediate flight either “(1) [clauses serious physical injury to any person who is not a participant in the crime; or (2) [i]s armed with a deadly weapon; or (3) [u]ses or threatens the immediate use of- a dangerous instrument; or (4) [displays- what appears to be a ... firearm.” § 160.15. The Career Offender Guideline enhances sentences for defendants in federal court who satisfy certain criteria. See U. S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 4Bl.l(a) (U.S. ■ Sentencing Comm’n Nov. 2014) (U.S.S.G.), A defendant is a career, offender if (1) he.-is “at least eighteen years old at the time [he] committed the instant offense of conviction”; (2) his “instant offense of conviction is a felony that is ... a crime of violence”; and (3) he “has at least two prior- felony convictions of .., a crime of violence.” Id. At the- time of Jones’ sentencing in 2015, 3 as mentioned earlier, there were two separate clauses defining “crime of violence.” See § 4B1.2(a). The first definition, the “force clause,” specifies that a crime of violence is a felony “that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another.” § 4B1.2(a)(l). The second clause enumerates several offenses that qualify as crimes of violence—“burglary of a dwelling, arson, [ ] extortion[, or] involves use of explosives”—before ending with the “residual clause,” which specifies that a crime of violence also includes any'offense that “otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.” § 4B1.2(a)(2) (2015).