Opinion ID: 751653
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Intent Required for Carjacking

Text: 8 Williams first argues that there was insufficient evidence to convict him of carjacking in either incident, because the government failed to prove that he had a specific intent to cause death or serious bodily harm as required by the carjacking statute, 18 U.S.C. § 2119. Williams claims the government is required to prove that he possessed an unconditional intent to cause death or serious bodily harm, regardless of whether the victim relinquishes his or her car. The government argues that an intent to cause death or serious bodily harm if the victim does not comply with the defendant's demands is sufficient to satisfy the statute's specific intent requirement. The government asserts there is sufficient evidence to support the jury finding that Williams possessed this conditional intent. 9 We must interpret the carjacking statute to resolve these conflicting claims. We review the district court's interpretation of the statute de novo. See Loehrer v. McDonnell Douglas Corp., 98 F.3d 1056, 1061 (8th Cir.1996). In interpreting a statute we must not be guided by a single sentence or member of a sentence, but look to the provisions of the whole law, and to its object and policy. Pilot Life Ins. Co. v. Dedeaux, 481 U.S. 41, 51, 107 S.Ct. 1549, 1555, 95 L.Ed.2d 39 (1987) (internal quotations omitted). 10 The carjacking statute provides as follows: 11 Whoever, with the intent to cause death or serious bodily harm takes a motor vehicle that has been transported, shipped, or received in interstate or foreign commerce from the person or presence of another by force and violence or by intimidation, or attempts to do so, shall-- 12 (1) be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 15 years, or both, 13 (2) if serious bodily injury (as defined in section 1365 of this title) results, be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 25 years, or both, and 14 (3) if death results, be fined under this title or imprisoned for any number of years up to life, or both, or sentenced to death. 15 18 U.S.C. § 2119 (1994). 16 Thus, a carjacking conviction requires proof of three basic elements. First, the defendant must have taken or attempted to take a motor vehicle from a person or presence of another by force and violence or by intimidation. Id. Second, the defendant must have acted with the intent to cause death or serious bodily harm. Id. Third, the motor vehicle involved must have been transported, shipped, or received in interstate or foreign commerce. Id. 17 At least four of our sister circuits have been confronted with the issue we face here: whether a conditional intent to cause death or serious bodily harm if the victim does not relinquish his or her car satisfies the intent element. The Ninth Circuit answered the question in the negative, holding [t]he mere conditional intent to harm a victim if she resists is simply not enough to satisfy § 2119's new specific intent requirement. United States v. Randolph, 93 F.3d 656, 665 (9th Cir.1996). The court found that the defendant's threat to harm the victim if she did not relinquish her car satisfied the intimidation part of the first element, but was insufficient to show the defendant intended to cause death or serious bodily harm where his accomplices impulsively and independently assaulted the victim. Id. The court reasoned that to construe a threat to satisfy § 2119's intent element as well as its 'taking' element would be to make surplusage of the intent element. Id. at 665 n. 6. Such an interpretation, the Ninth Circuit concluded, would eliminate the government's burden to prove that additional intent element. Id. at 665. 18 We respectfully disagree with this reasoning. It is very likely, in our view, that the same actions which satisfy the taking by force or intimidation element may also serve to indicate an intent to cause death or serious bodily injury. Consistent with our view, the Tenth Circuit has rejected the Ninth Circuit's reasoning, explaining that the carjacking statute's taking and intent elements do not constitute two separate and distinct intent requirements. United States v. Romero, 122 F.3d 1334, 1338 (10th Cir.1997), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 118 S.Ct. 1310, 140 L.Ed.2d 474 (1998). Instead, the plain language of the statute indicates that the 'tak[ing] ... by force or intimidation' element comprises the actus reus of the crime and the 'intent to cause death or serious bodily harm' element constitutes the mens rea of the crime. Id. at 1338-39 (alterations in original). 19 In contrast to the Ninth Circuit's rejection of conditional intent, the Second, Third, and Tenth Circuits have all held that conditional intent is sufficient to satisfy the intent requirement of § 2119. See United States v. Arnold, 126 F.3d 82, 89 (2d Cir.1997); Romero, 122 F.3d at 1339; United States v. Anderson, 108 F.3d 478, 485 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 118 S.Ct. 123, 139 L.Ed.2d 74 (1997). In Anderson, the Third Circuit noted that the practical effect of the Ninth Circuit's Randolph holding is to limit the application of the carjacking statute to only those cases where the defendant actually physically harms the victim, because [r]arely will there be a case where there will be evidence of a defendant's unconditional intent to cause death or serious bodily harm whether or not the victim relinquishes his or her car, yet the victim sustains no injuries. 108 F.3d at 483. The court stated that such a result is clearly contrary to Congressional intent as evidenced in the statute itself, because Congress has provided for enhanced penalties when a carjacking does, in fact, result in death or serious bodily injury. Id. (citing 18 U.S.C. § 2119(2) and (3)). The court then reviewed basic criminal law tenets regarding conditional intent, noting that conditional intent is normally sufficient to prove intent unless the condition negatives the harm or evil sought to be prevented by the law defining the offense. Id. (quoting Wayne R. Lafave and Austin W. Scott, Jr., Substantive Criminal Law § 3.5(d), at 313 (1986)) (other internal quotations omitted). Because a conditional intent to harm the victim unless the victim relinquishes his or her car does not negate the harm sought to be prevented by the carjacking statute, the Third Circuit held conditional intent is sufficient to satisfy the intent element. Id. at 483-85. 20 The Second and Tenth Circuits have followed much of the reasoning of Anderson, also holding conditional intent can satisfy the intent element of the carjacking statute. In Romero, the Tenth Circuit initially noted that [a]s a general rule, conditional intent is still intent. Romero, 122 F.3d at 1338 (internal quotations omitted). The Romero court agreed with Anderson that the structure of the carjacking statute itself showed that Congress did not intend to limit the offense of carjacking to those situations in which the victim was killed or suffered serious bodily harm because Congress had provided enhanced penalties in those particular situations. Id. at 1339. The Second Circuit similarly found that allowing conditional intent to satisfy the intent requirement comports with a reasonable interpretation of the legislative purpose of the statute. Arnold, 126 F.3d at 88. 21 We find persuasive these courts' reliance on the structure of the carjacking statute itself to conclude that the specific intent requirement is satisfied by a defendant's conditional intent to cause death or serious bodily injury only if the victim does not relinquish the vehicle. By looking at § 2119 as a whole, including the enhanced penalties for carjackers whose actions actually cause death or physical injury, it is clear Congress did not intend to limit the reach of the federal carjacking statute to those situations where a defendant unconditionally intends death or serious bodily injury regardless of whether the victim surrenders the vehicle. See Anderson, 108 F.3d at 483. We hold that the intent element of the carjacking statute can be satisfied by proof that the defendant intended to cause death or serious bodily injury even if such a result is only intended if the victim refused to relinquish his or her car. 22 Having interpreted the statute, we must review Williams' sufficiency of the evidence claim to determine if there is an interpretation of the evidence that would allow a reasonable jury to conclude Williams possessed the necessary intent beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Uder, 98 F.3d 1039, 1045 (8th Cir.1996). We review the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, drawing all reasonable inferences from the evidence in favor of the verdict. United States v. Willis, 89 F.3d 1371, 1376 (8th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 273, 136 L.Ed.2d 196 (1996). 23 Turning to the record in this case, we find there is sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to conclude that Williams possessed this conditional intent to cause death or serious physical injury in both of the incidents. In the first incident, the evidence supports a finding that Williams pointed his loaded revolver at Cooper's three-year-old son and ordered the two out of the car. In the second incident, the evidence supports a finding that Williams attacked O'Har from behind and tried to force her into her car. Williams was armed with a revolver during the attack. Only O'Har's screams caused Williams to move away from her. Even as Williams moved away, he continued to hold the gun. Williams only fled the scene when another car entered the parking lot. The jury could reasonably infer from this evidence that Williams intended to cause death or serious bodily injury on each occasion. 24