Opinion ID: 2817225
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Aggravated Burglary as a Violent Felony

Text: Tennessee law explicates the elements of aggravated burglary in Tenn. Code Ann. § 3914-403: “Aggravated burglary is burglary of a habitation as defined in §§ 39-14-401 and 39-14402.” The Supreme Court of Tennessee elaborated on this definition in State v. Langford, 994 S.W.2d 126 (Tenn. 1999), stating that “[a]ggravated burglary occurs when an individual enters a habitation ‘without the effective consent of the property owner’ and . . . intends to commit a felony.” Id. at 127 (quoting Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-14-402 to -403). Relying on this state-law definition of the crime, this Court has held that Tennessee’s aggravated-burglary statute “represents a generic burglary capable of constituting a violent felony for ACCA purposes.” United States v. Nance, 481 F.3d 882, 888 (6th Cir. 2007). Because Tennessee aggravated burglary is a generic version of the crime of burglary, it constitutes a violent felony under the ACCA’s enumerated-offense clause, 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)(ii) (listing burglary as a violent felony). Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575, 599 (1990) (“We conclude that a person has been convicted of burglary for purposes of a § 924(e) enhancement if he is convicted of any crime, regardless of its exact definition or label, having the basic elements of unlawful or unprivileged entry into, or remaining in, a building or structure, with intent to commit a crime.”). The holdings from Taylor and Nance are controlling and establish that a Tennessee conviction for aggravated burglary is categorically a violent felony under the ACCA’s enumerated-offense clause. -6- No. 14-6524 United States v. Bailey B. Robbery and Aggravated Robbery as Violent Felonies Tennessee law explicates the elements of aggravated robbery in Tenn. Code Ann. § 3913-402: “Aggravated robbery is robbery as defined in § 39-13-401 . . . [a]ccomplished with a deadly weapon or by display of any article used or fashioned to lead the victim to reasonably believe it to be a deadly weapon; or [w]here the victim suffers serious bodily injury.” Section 39-13-401 in turn defines robbery as “the intentional or knowing theft of property from the person of another by violence or putting the person in fear.” In United States v. Gloss, 661 F.3d 317 (6th Cir. 2011), this Court held that a Tennessee conviction for facilitation of aggravated robbery qualifies as a violent felony under the ACCA’s use-of-force clause, id. at 319. The Gloss court explained: “Any robbery accomplished with a real or disguised deadly weapon, or that causes serious bodily injury, falls under the first clause of the definition of violent felony, as it necessarily involves ‘the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another.’” Id. (quoting 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)(i)). And in United States v. Mitchell, 743 F.3d 1054 (6th Cir. 2014), this Court held that a Tennessee conviction for robbery qualifies as a violent felony under the ACCA’s use-of-force clause, id. at 1059. The Mitchell court explained that the “element of violence contained in the robbery statute . . . satisfies § 924(e)(2)(B)(i)’s requirement of the ‘use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force.’” Id. The holdings from Gloss and Mitchell are controlling and establish that Tennessee convictions for aggravated robbery and robbery are categorically violent felonies under the ACCA’s use-of-force clause. -7- No. 14-6524 United States v. Bailey