Court Opinion

ID: 9390330
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-04-27 16:00:38.086775+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:18:33.671098
License: Public Domain

United States Court of Appeals
                             For the Eighth Circuit
                         ___________________________

                                 No. 22-1765
                         ___________________________

                              United States of America

                         lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee

                                            v.

                               Christopher T. Mallett

                       lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant
                                       ____________

                     Appeal from United States District Court
                   for the Eastern District of Arkansas - Central
                                   ____________

                           Submitted: February 13, 2023
                              Filed: April 27, 2023
                                   [Published]
                                 ____________

Before SMITH, Chief Judge, STRAS and KOBES, Circuit Judges.
                              ____________

PER CURIAM.

       Christopher Mallett pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession
of a firearm. The district court1 enhanced the sentence under the Armed Career

      1
       The Honorable James M. Moody, Jr., United States District Judge for the
Eastern District of Arkansas.
Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. § 924(e). Mallett has one prior conviction for
domestic battery and two prior convictions under the Arkansas robbery statute. See
Ark. Code Ann. § 5-12-102. On appeal, Mallett agrees that his domestic battery
conviction is a “violent felony” for purposes of the ACCA but disputes the district
court’s holding that his convictions under the Arkansas robbery statute are as well.
We affirm.

       We review de novo whether a previous conviction is a violent felony under the
ACCA. United States v. Schaffer, 818 F.3d 796, 798 (8th Cir. 2016). The ACCA
defines “violent felony” as “any crime punishable by imprisonment for a term
exceeding one year” that “has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use
of physical force against the person of another.” 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)(i) (referred
to as the “elements” clause). In Arkansas, “[a] person commits robbery if, with the
purpose of committing a felony or misdemeanor theft or resisting apprehension
immediately after committing a felony or misdemeanor theft, the person employs or
threatens to immediately employ physical force upon another person.” Ark. Code
Ann. § 5-12-102(a). In Arkansas, robbery is a class B felony with a minimum term
of imprisonment of five years. Id. §§ 5-12-102(b), 5-4-401(a)(3). Arkansas defines
“physical force” in the context of robbery as “any . . . [b]odily impact, restraint, or
confinement; or . . . [t]hreat of any bodily impact, restraint, or confinement.” Id. § 5-
12-101(1)–(2).

       Mallett argues that the Arkansas robbery statute does not possess an element
with the requisite degree of force necessary to be a “violent felony” due to the
inclusion of “restraint” or “confinement.” See id. “In determining whether a
conviction is a violent felony, courts must start with the formal categorical approach
and look only to the fact of conviction and the statutory definition of the prior
offense.” United States v. Jordan, 812 F.3d 1183, 1186 (8th Cir. 2016) (internal
quotation marks omitted). The Supreme Court has held that “the elements clause [of

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the ACCA] encompasses robbery offenses that require the criminal to overcome the
victim’s resistance.” Stokeling v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 544, 550 (2019).

       Our decision here is “bound by cases interpreting whether an offense is a crime
of violence under the Guidelines as well as cases interpreting whether an offense is
a violent felony under the Armed Career Criminal Act.” United States v. Williams,
537 F.3d 969, 971 (8th Cir. 2008); see also United States v. Johnson, 326 F.3d 934,
936 (8th Cir. 2003) (noting that the definitions of “violent felony” and “crime of
violence” are nearly identical). In United States v. Smith, we held that an Arkansas
robbery conviction is a crime of violence under the Guidelines. 928 F.3d 714, 717
(8th Cir. 2019). Given that and considering the close similarity between the terms
“violent felony” and “crime of violence,” it follows that an Arkansas robbery
conviction would also be a violent felony for the purposes of the ACCA.

        This is the same logic used in our unpublished decision in United States v.
Thomas, 811 F. App’x 390, 391 (8th Cir. 2020) (unpublished per curiam). Although
not binding, its reasoning is persuasive. In determining whether an Arkansas robbery
conviction is a violent felony, “we are bound by cases interpreting whether an offense
is a crime of violence under the Guidelines.” Id. (quoting Williams, 537 F.3d at 971).
An Arkansas robbery conviction is a crime of violence under the Guidelines. Id. at
390–91 (citing Smith, 928 F.3d at 716–17). It thus follows that an Arkansas robbery
conviction is a violent felony under the ACCA. Id. at 391.

      Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
                     ______________________________

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