Opinion ID: 4242298
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Molinar’s Remaining Arguments

Text: Molinar’s remaining arguments against treating his prior conviction as a crime of violence are unavailing. First, Molinar argues that because Arizona has abolished the “claim of right” defense to robbery, and because the defense is still available for the generic crime, Arizona “broadly penalizes conduct that would not constitute generic robbery.” In United States v. Velasquez-Bosque, 601 F.3d 955 (9th Cir. 2010), we rejected this precise argument. Id. at 963. We reasoned that “[t]he availability of an affirmative defense [like the claim of right doctrine] is not relevant to the categorical analysis,” because that analysis looks at the elements of the crimes being compared (here, the elements of Arizona robbery as compared to generic robbery), not the defenses to either. Id. Second, Molinar argues that Arizona’s statutory definition of “property” sweeps more broadly than the generic understanding of property because Arizona’s property definition includes intangible things of value, 22 UNITED STATES V. MOLINAR whereas the generic definition does not. But a person commits Arizona robbery only “if in the course of taking any property of another from his person or immediate presence and against his will, such person threatens or uses force against any person.” Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 13-1902(A) (emphasis added). Molinar points to no case in which an Arizona robbery conviction was based on the taking of an intangible object, and given the elements of Arizona robbery, the very concept seems implausible. See Gonzales v. Duenas-Alvarez, 549 U.S. 183, 193 (2007) (holding that there must be “a realistic probability, not a theoretical possibility, that the State would apply its statute to conduct that falls outside the generic definition” to conclude that a state crime is overbroad). Accordingly, we conclude that Arizona’s definition of property does not change the result of our categorical analysis of attempted armed robbery.