Court Opinion

ID: 9499091
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 17:37:20.558657+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:59:16.446349
License: Public Domain

ACKERMAN, Senior District Judge,
Concurring in part and Dissenting in part.
Today, the Court holds that there is no substantial risl$ that a person who unlawfully possesses a pipe bomb may intentionally use physical force against another in the course of committing the offense. Because I believe that a pipe bomb has no lawful use, and that any unlawful possession of a pipe bomb poses a substantial risk that the possessor may intentionally use physical force against another in the course of possessing the pipe bomb, I respectfully dissent from Part III of the majority’s opinion.
I.
I begin with the plain language of the statute. Section 16(b) of Title 18 of the United States Code defines a crime of violence to include “any ... offense that is a felony and that, by its nature, involves a substantial risk that physical force against the person or property of another may be used in the course of committing the offense.” As the Supreme Court explained in Leocal v. Ashcroft, 543 U.S. 1, 9, 125 S.Ct. 377, 160 L.Ed.2d 271 (2004), the term “use” requires more than negligent or merely accidental conduct. Indeed, as the Third Circuit held in Tran v. Gonzales, 414 F.3d 464, 470 (3d Cir.2005), it requires “specific intent to employ force, and not mere recklessness as to causing harm.”
The terms “substantial risk” and “may” make clear that the actual use of physical force is not a required element of a crime of violence. See United States v. Dodge, 846 F.Supp. 181, 183 (D.Conn.1994) (“Actual use of physical force against another is not an essential element of a ‘crime of violence’ ... as evidenced by the use of the conditional term ‘may.’ ”). A “substantial risk” exists when there is a “strong possibility” of the use of force. United States v. Jennings, 195 F.3d 795, 798 (5th Cir.1999); see also United States v. Dillard, 214 F.3d 88, 95 (2d Cir.2000) (“It is sufficient that the risk be material, important, or significant.”). As other courts have recognized, the degree of probability required for a risk to be “substantial” is undefined and difficult to quantify with precision, see, e.g., Dillard, 214 F.3d at 94, but where Congress has not supplied meaning to the words of a statute, common sense and ordinary usage are typically a court’s best resort, see Dimuzio v. Resolution Trust Corp., 68 F.3d 777, 783 n. 5 (3d Cir.1995); see also Am. Tobacco Co. v. Patterson, 456 U.S. 63, 68, 102 S.Ct. 1534, *14571 L.Ed.2d 748 (1982) (“[W]e assume ‘that the legislative purpose is expressed by the ordinary meaning of the words used.’ ” (quoting Richards v. United States, 369 U.S. 1, 9, 82 S.Ct. 585, 7 L.Ed.2d 492 (1962))).
The phrase “in the course of committing the offense” is the final element of § 16(b) requiring interpretation. Congress’s use of the present participle “committing” connotes present, continuing action. See Am. Gas & Elec. Co. v. Sec. & Exch. Comm’n, 134 F.2d 633, 648 (D.C.Cir.1943) (Stephens, J., dissenting); Fawn Mining Corp. v. Hudson, 878 F.Supp. 240, 243 (D.D.C.1995). This usage accords with the prepositional phrase “in the course,” which suggests not merely a passing instant, but a continuum of time during which a state or condition exists. See Webster’s Third Neiv International Dictionary 522 (1993) (defining “course” to mean “progress or progression through a series ... or through a development or a period,” or “an ordered continuing process, succession, sequence, or series”); see also Dillard, 214 F.3d at 93 (equating “in the course” with “during”). Finally, the statute speaks plainly of “the offense,” meaning the whole offense, and not merely a portion or an aspect of a given offense. Thus, common sense and ordinary rules of usage dictate that “in the course of committing the offense” should encompass nothing less than all conduct comprising a given offense. This, in turn, requires a court to consider the entire period during which it can be said the offense is being committed.
Against this interpretive backdrop, I read “crime of violence” under § 16(b) to mean any offense that is a felony and that, by its nature, involves a strong possibility that intentional physical force against the person or property of another may be used in the period of time during which the offense is being committed. This reading flows from the plain language of the statute and honors the common meaning of its terms. Moreover, because I find no ambiguity in the terms of § 16(b), I find no occasion to resort to the rule of lenity. Cf. Leocal, 543 U.S. at 11 n. 8, 125 S.Ct. 377.
The Court today affirms Hull’s felony conviction for possession of an unregistered pipe bomb. However, the majority opines that “[tjhere is no risk that physical force might be used against another to commit the offense of possession, regardless of whether pipe bombs have a legitimate purpose or not.” Maj. Op. at 139 (emphasis omitted). This interpretation distorts the language of § 16(b) and significantly narrows its scope. By substituting “to commit the offense” in place of “in the course of committing the offense,” the majority adopts an interpretation under which, once possession is initially obtained, a court need not concern itself with whether there is any substantial risk that the pipe bomb may be used thereafter. The majority considers only the risk incident to effectuating the offense, and not the risk that may exist during the continuing offense. For instance, the majority opines that “[t]o commit the offense of possession, Hull merely had to exercise control or dominion over the pipe bomb.” Id. This interpretation ignores the ongoing substantial risk that may exist throughout the course of possession. I believe that the literal language of the statute calls for a broader reading that takes into account any substantial risk that may arise in the course of the continuing offense. Under such a broad reading, if a substantial risk that physical force may be used against another arises at any time in the course of possessing a pipe bomb, the crime constitutes a crime of violence.
The broad reading of § 16(b) that I propose enjoys a logical consistency lacking in the majority’s interpretation. It defies *146contradiction that a person who ■ obtains possession of a pipe bomb on Monday is still “committing the offense” of possession on Friday if he or she exercised continuous dominion or control. Thus, the “course of committing the offense” of possession includes the initial exercise of dominion or control, the moment dominion or control is relinquished, and all times in between. At any given time within this continuum, it is obvious that the person is “committing the offense” of possession.
Nothing in Leocal dissuades me from this conclusion. In Leocal, the late Chief Justice posed the example of burglary as a crime for which there was a substantial risk that force would be used against the person or property of another. 543 U.S. at 10, 125 S.Ct. 377. At common law, an element of burglary was breaking, which, by definition, required the use of force. William Blackstone, 4 Commentaries *225. Although courts differ as to whether burglary is a continuing offense,7 the “substantial risk” element of § 16(b) is, at all events, satisfied upon the initial act of breaking. Therefore, a court need look no further than the initial breaking to conclude that burglary is a federal crime of violence. This is why Congress and the Court in Leocal identified burglary as the “classic example” of a crime of violence under § 16(b). 543 U.S. at 10, 125 S.Ct. 377; see also S.Rep. No. 98-225, at 307 (1984), reprinted in 1984 U.S.C.C.A.N. 3182, 3487.
Possession, on the other hand, is almost universally recognized to be a continuing offense. See, e.g., United States v. Zidell, 323 F.3d 412, 422 (6th Cir.2003) (noting that “possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance is a continuing offense,” and collecting cases); United States v. Fleischli, 305 F.3d 643, 658 (7th Cir.2002) (“Possession of a firearm is a continuing offense which ceases only when the possession stops.”); United States v. Blizzard, 27 F.3d 100, 102 (4th Cir.1994) (“[Possession is by nature a continuing offense.”); William Meyerhofer, Statutory Restrictions on Weapons Possession: Must the Right to Self-Defense Fall Victim?, 1996 N.Y.U. Ann. Surv. Am. L. 219, 233 (“Because possession is a continuing offense, there is ordinarily no single act which can be used to establish the defendant’s guilt. There is, rather, a continuum of time during which the defendant possessed the weapon.” (footnotes omitted)). Indeed, “Congress intended the crime of possession to refer to a course of conduct rather than individual acts of dominion.” United States v. Jones, 403 F.3d 604, 606 (8th Cir.2005) (holding that “the continuous possession of the same firearm constitutes a single offense”). “Possession is a course of conduct, not an act; by prohibiting possession Congress intended to punish as one offense all of the acts of dominion which demonstrate a continuing possessory interest in a firearm.” United States v. Jones, 533 F.2d 1387, 1391 (6th Cir.1976). To effectuate possession, it is true, one need not use force. However, simply because force was not used initially in obtaining possession does not excuse a court from its obligation to consider the full “course” of the continuing offense. See United States v. Medina-Anicacio, 325 F.3d 638, 650 (5th Cir.2003) (Garza, J., dissenting) (“The unlawful possession of a dangerous weapon is an ongoing course of conduct. Thus, an individual continues to *147commit the offense as long as he holds onto the weapon.” (citations omitted)).
Pre-Leoeai decisions from our sister circuits reflect a clear understanding and acceptance of the judicial responsibility to consider the full course of the continuing offense of possession. Numerous courts of appeals have recognized that certain crimes of possession may qualify as crimes of violence. See, e.g., United States v. Rivas-Palacios, 244 F.3d 396, 397-98 (5th Cir.2001) (sawed-off shotgun); Sutherland v. Flemming, 229 F.3d 1164, 2000 WL 1174566, at * 1 (10th Cir.2000) (“Possession of a machine gun, by its very nature, involves a substantial risk of violence or force.... ”); Dillard, 214 F.3d at 97 & n. 9 (possession of firearm by convicted felon); Jennings, 195 F.3d at 797-99 (pipe bomb); United States v. Drapeau, 188 F.3d 987, 990 (8th Cir.1999) (bomb); United States v. Newman, 125 F.3d 863, 1997 WL 603740, at *1 (10th Cir.1997) (pipe bomb); Impounded, 117 F.3d 730, 738 & n. 12 (3d Cir.1997) (holding that possession with intent to use dangerous or deadly weapon is a “crime of violence”); United States v. Amparo, 68 F.3d 1222, 1226 (9th Cir.1995) (referring to “uniform holdings” that “mere possession of an unregistered firearm is a crime of violence”); United States v. Dunn, 946 F.2d 615, 620-21 (9th Cir.1991) (sawed-off shotgun); see also United States v. Fortes, 141 F.3d 1, 7-8 (1st Cir.1998) (holding that possession of sawed-off shotgun is a “violent felony”); United States v. Jay, 2004 WL 744410, at * 1-2 (M.D.Fla. Apr.8, 2004) (pipe bomb); United States v. Powers, 318 F.Supp.2d 339, 342 (W.D.Va.2004) (collecting cases); United States v. Butler, 165 F.R.D. 68, 71-72 (N.D.Ohio 1996) (felon in possession of rifle and pipe bomb); Dodge, 846 F.Supp. at 183-84 (silencer and pipe bomb). Under the majority’s reading of § 16(b), these cases are no longer good law. Because I do not believe that Leocal prohibited courts from considering the entire course of a continuing offense when determining whether that offense constitutes a crime of violence, I do not believe that Leocal rendered these cases, and their logic, obsolete.
II.
If this Court were to consider the full course of the continuing offense of possession of a pipe bomb, I believe it would be compelled to conclude, as so many other courts have done already, that when a person unlawfully possesses a pipe bomb, there is a substantial risk that that person may intentionally use force against another. Unlike many other types of “firearms,” a pipe bomb has no legitimate social purpose. As the Fifth Circuit has recognized,
[ujnlike a handgun, it is not considered sport to hunt or engage in target practice with a pipe bomb. Moreover, it would be quite difficult to protect oneself or one’s family with a pipe bomb. In fact, we cannot conceive of any nonviolent or lawful uses for a pipe bomb.
Jennings, 195 F.3d at 798 (footnotes omitted). The Ninth Circuit has added that pipe bombs “have no legitimate purpose and ... have the potential to kill indiscriminately, without warning, and with less chance that the perpetrator will be caught.” United States v. Loveday, 922 F.2d 1411, 1416 (9th Cir.1991); see also United States v. Dempsey, 957 F.2d 831, 834 (11th Cir.1992) (quoting Loveday). A panel of the Tenth Circuit similarly concluded that “[p]ipe bombs are ‘inherently dangerous weapons for which no peaceful purpose can be seriously suggested, regardless of whether the weapons actually are used.’ ” Newman, 125 F.3d 863, 1997 WL 603740, at * 1 (quoting Dodge, 846 F.Supp. at 184). In a case involving firebombs, the Eighth Circuit agreed with the *148Newman court’s finding of a “lack of a nonviolent purpose for a bomb and the fact that, by its very nature, there is a substantial risk that the bomb would be used against the person or property of another.” Drapeau, 188 F.3d at 990. A panel of the Sixth Circuit reached the same conclusion in a per curiam decision, finding that “[p]ipe bombs are inherently dangerous and serve no useful purpose.” United State v. Cole, 19 F.3d 19, 1994 WL 64697, at *3 (6th Cir.1994). The judicial authorities are legion and unanimous: a pipe bomb serves no legitimate, non-criminal purpose.
The judicial assessment in this regard mirrors the views of Congress and law enforcement. Congress enacted a registration requirement for certain firearms it deemed “inherently dangerous and generally lacking usefulness, except for violent and criminal purposes.” Dunn, 946 F.2d at 621; see also United States v. Fields, 2006 WL 1049654, at *4 (3d Cir. Apr.21, 2006). “The legislative history of the Firearms Act indicates that it requires registration of objectively destructive devices, devices inherently prone to abuse and for which there are no legitimate industrial uses.” United States v. Cruz, 492 F.2d 217, 219 (2d Cir.1974); see also United States v. Golding, 332 F.3d 838, 843 (5th Cir.2003). Federal law enforcement authorities have acknowledged the specific threat posed by pipe bombs, testifying before Congress that “pipe bombs and firearms” have traditionally been regarded as “the favorite weapons of the terrorist.” Patrick J. Daly, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, Chicago Division, FBI, Testimony before the House Committee on Governmental Reform, Subcommittee on Government Efficiency, Financial Management, and Intergovernmental Relations: Coun-terterrorism (July 2, 2002), available at http://www.fbi.gov/congress/con-gress02/daly07022002.htm. One need only consider the prevalence of pipe bombs in the activities of domestic terrorists to appreciate the verity of this statement. See generally Brent L. Smith, Terrorism in America: Pipe Bombs and Pipe Dreams (1994) (describing the activities of terrorist groups operating in the United States from the 1960s through the 1990s).
Evidence presented at trial provides even further support for the conclusion that pipe bombs lack any legal purpose. The Government’s expert, an officer with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, testified that pipe bombs like those discovered in Hull’s possession “would not have any social or cultural value.” (App. at 1258.) He testified that “[tjhere is no legitimate purpose for these devices,” and that “[f]rom our perspective or from any reasonable person’s perspective, they can simply be used as a weapon and nothing more.” (Id. at 1258-59.) The expert elaborated that these pipe bombs “produce fragmentation and they are not good for any kind of useful work other than, of course, creating a weapon and injuring or killing people.” (Id. at. 1261.) On cross examination, he rejected any notion that a pipe bomb could be used for farming purposes, such as removing stumps or rocks, because the power generated by an exploding pipe bomb “is insufficient to do any kind of useful work on a farm or otherwise,” but “is enough to blow up the pipe, to throw fragments.” (Id. at 1263.) At no time during trial did Hull refute this evidence.
For all of these reasons, there can be no serious dispute that a pipe bomb lacks any nonviolent or lawful purpose. It flows inexorably from this conclusion that when a person unlawfully possesses a pipe bomb, there is a substantial risk that he or she may put that pipe bomb to the use for which it was intended: to perpetrate phys*149ical force against the person or property of another.
III.
None of the authorities cited in the majority’s opinion compels a result contrary to the one I propose today. The majority discusses our recent decision in Tran v. Gonzales. In Tran, a case which did not involve a pipe bomb, this Court held only that § 16(b) requires that the “use” of “physical force” be intentional, rather than merely reckless. 414 F.3d at 470. Intentional use of force is precisely the “substantial risk” that I believe arises when one unlawfully possesses a pipe bomb. Therefore, I find that Tran is fully consistent with the interpretation I propose today.
The majority also discusses United States v. Boivers, 432 F.3d 518 (3d Cir.2005), another case that did not involve pipe bombs. In Bowers, we considered whether the crime of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), was a crime of violence within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 3142(g) and (f)(1)(A). We concluded that it was not. We found that “many, perhaps most” of the reasons why a felon might possess a firearm “do not involve likely accompanying violence.” 432 F.3d at 521 (internal quotation marks omitted) (citing United States v. Lane, 252 F.3d 905, 906 (7th Cir.2001), for the proposition that felons may use firearms for “self-defense, hunting, gun collecting, and target practice”). That reasoning simply does not apply here, where the possession of an unregistered pipe bomb has no lawful purpose. See Drapeau, 188 F.3d at 990 n. 4 (“The offense of being a felon-in-possession of a firearm focuses on society’s determination that certain individuals — felons—are unqualified to possess firearms, even for lawful purposes. The offense of unlawfully making a bomb, however, focuses on the inherent dangerousness of, and lack of a legitimate purpose for, the bomb itself.” (citations omitted)).
The majority also cites Bailey v. United States, 516 U.S. 137, 116 S.Ct. 501, 133 L.Ed.2d 472 (1995), to suggest that “[t]he danger from a pipe bomb comes not from the offense of possession, but from the added factor of use of the pipe bomb.” Maj. Op. at 139-140. In Bailey, the Supreme Court considered the meaning of the term “use” in 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1), a statute which specifies penalties for the “use” of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. There, the Court held that “use” requires “active employment,” rather than mere possession, of a firearm. Id. at. 143. Although § 924(c)(1) and § 16(b) both employ variations of the word “use,” the similarity stops there. The Court in Bailey had no occasion to consider what sort of conduct involves a substantial risk that physical force may be used against the person or property of another. Moreover, because I regard the possession of an unregistered pipe bomb to involve a substantial risk that physical force against another may be “actively employed” in the course of committing the offense of possession, I find Bailey entirely consistent with my proposed construction.
Finally, the majority draws support from United States v. Lane, in which the Seventh Circuit held that being a felon in possession of a firearm was not a crime of violence within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 3156(a)(4)(B). Aside from the obvious fact that decisions of the Seventh Circuit do not bind the Third Circuit, Lane did not involve a pipe bomb or other weapon lacking any significant lawful use — a fact expressly noted in the court’s opinion. See 252 F.3d at 907 (“Some firearms, it is true — for example sawed-off shotguns— have no significant lawful use, and so their *150possession by felons may well constitute a crime of violence, as held in reference to the sentencing guidelines.... Our defendant is not accused of possessing such a weapon, however....”). Therefore, Lane is distinguishable and non-binding.
In short, the majority’s opinion makes new law. With today’s holding, the Court steers a new course into largely uncharted waters. If the “mere” possession of a pipe bomb is not a crime of violence, then neither, it would seem, is the “mere” possession of an even more destructive implement. I do not believe that any of the precedents cited in the majority’s opinion compel or warrant this result.
IV.
Today, the Court holds that the “mere” possession of a pipe bomb is not a federal crime of violence. As I read this holding, the “mere” possession of a car bomb, or a landmine, or an explosive vest, or a “dirty bomb,” or even a nuclear bomb, would also
not constitute a crime of violence, because there would be no substantial risk that the possessor may use physical force against another in the course of committing the offense of possession. I cannot condone such a crabbed interpretation of § 16(b). The “course” of committing the crime of possession includes the time that possession is obtained, the time that possession is relinquished, and all times in between. In the course of possessing a pipe bomb, there is always a substantial risk that the possessor may intentionally (not accidentally) use physical force against the person or property of another. The plain language of § 16(b), no less than common sense, dictates this result.

. Compare People v. Shipley, 256 Mich.App. 367, 662 N.W.2d 856, 863 (2003) (holding that burglary is not a continuing offense), and State v. Brown, 626 So.2d 851, 854 (La.Ct.App.1993) (same), with State v. Stearns, 645 So.2d 417, 418 (Fla.1994) (holding that armed burglary is a continuing offense).