Opinion ID: 664161
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Kidnapping Conviction

Text: 41 Unlike the crime of burglary, Sec. 924(e)(2)(B) does not specifically list kidnapping as a violent felony. Therefore, we must focus on the statutorily mandated inquiry into whether the crime of kidnapping is a crime that either has an element of use, attempted use or threatened use of physical force against the person of another, or whether that crime involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another. 11 42 Phelps argues that his conviction for kidnapping was not a violent crime, that kidnapping is not intrinsically violent and that therefore, the district court erred in relying on this conviction to enhance his sentence. The United States argues that although kidnapping under the Missouri statute does not require proof of physical force as an element of the offense under Sec. 924(e)(2)(B)(i), the crime nonetheless entails a serious potential risk of physical injury to another based on the requirement that the kidnapping be without that person's consent. As a result, the United States argues that use of this conviction for enhancement is proper under Sec. 924(e)(2)(B)(ii). 43 We have not previously addressed the issue of whether kidnapping constitutes a violent felony for purposes of Sec. 924(e)(2)(B)(i) or (ii). In this regard, however, we find the Ninth Circuit's decision in United States v. Sherbondy, 865 F.2d 996 (9th Cir.1988) particularly enlightening. 44 In Sherbondy, the Ninth Circuit correctly anticipated the Supreme Court's adoption of a categorical approach to determining whether a specific crime was a violent felony. See Taylor, 495 U.S. at 600, 110 S.Ct. at 2159 (citing, inter alia, Sherbondy for the proposition that a categorical approach should be used in this context). The Sherbondy court reasoned that although the crime of kidnapping did not contain the use of force as an essential element of the crime, it nonetheless entailed a serious potential risk of physical injury to the victim, and that it was therefore a violent felony under Sec. 924(e)(2)(B)(ii). See Sherbondy, 865 F.2d at 1009. 45 We adopt the reasoning outlined in Sherbondy, particularly in light of the fact that the Missouri statute, like most, defines kidnapping as an offense undertaken without the consent of the kidnapped person. It is worth emphasizing that Sec. 924(e)(2)(B)(ii) only requires that there be a serious potential risk of injury; it does not require proof that any actual injury occurred, nor should it under a categorical approach. We agree with the position of the United States that it is plausible, and indeed even likely, that a non-consensual, unlawful kidnapping under the Missouri statute could potentially result in physical injury to an involved party. We therefore conclude that the crime of kidnapping under Missouri law is a violent felony sufficient to support an enhanced sentence under Sec. 924(e)(1). 46 In sum, we reject appellant's statutory argument that the district court erred in imposing an enhanced sentence given that the United States offered sufficient evidence by which the sentencing court could conclude that appellant had three prior convictions for violent felonies under the ACCA. Having resolved Phelps' statutory arguments adversely to him, we must now address the merits of his constitutional challenge.