Court Opinion

ID: 9494029
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 15:26:57.341707+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:56:10.559549
License: Public Domain

*1108RIPPLE, Circuit Judge,
concurring.
I join without reservation the court’s thoughtful opinion. I agree entirely with the court that there is a sufficient threat of physical injury in this case to justify designating the offense as a “crime of violence” under the existing standards that focus on physical injury. I write separately solely to suggest that this case also demonstrates the desirability of legislative action to expand the definition of “crime of violence” to encompass those situations in which the victim, while not suffering physical injury or the threat of physical injury, suffers severe psychological or emotional injury that can be diagnosed under accepted medical standards. The guidelines already authorize upward departures for many criminal acts that cause such injury, see U.S.S.G. § 5K2.3,1 and therefore reflect the Sentencing Commission’s recognition that crimes that result in extreme emotional and psychological trauma to their victims warrant additional punishment. See United States v. Oliver, 118 F.3d 562, 566-67 (7th Cir.1997) (affirming district court’s upward departure under sec. 5K2.3 for psychological pain inflicted on victim under the Mann Act).
There seems to be no reason why the psychological injury acknowledged in § 5K2.3 ought not be recognized in the definition of “crime of violence.” Such a recognition would comport with our contemporary understanding as to the consequences suffered by victims of crime and would ensure that criminals who inflict this damage are treated in the same manner as those who inflict physical injury or .put them victims in grave jeopardy of such injury. The emphasis on physical violence appears to result from the legislative origins of the provision-a provision aimed principally at getting the physically violent offender off the street.2 We ought to acknowledge as well that the offender who *1109inflicts psychological or emotional trauma poses the same sort of threat.

. Specifically, U.S.S.G. § 5K2.3 authorizes courts to depart upwards, outside the range established by the applicable guidelines, if the victim suffers significant psychological injury:
If a victim or victims suffered psychological injury much more serious than that normally resulting from commission of the offense, the court may increase the sentence above the authorized guideline range. The extent of the increase ordinarily should depend on the severity of the psychological injury and the extent to which the injury was intended or knowingly risked.
Normally, psychological injury would be sufficiently severe to warrant application of this adjustment only when there is a substantial impairment of the intellectual, psychological, emotional, or behavioral functioning of a victim, when the impairment is likely to be of an extended or continuous duration, and when the impairment manifests itself by physical or psychological symptoms or by changes in behavior patterns. The court should consider the extent to which such harm was likely, given the nature of the defendant’s conduct.
U.S.S.G. § 5K2.3.

. Congress created the Sentencing Commission and authorized it to promulgate sentencing guidelines and policy statements as part of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984. See United States v. Parson, 955 F.2d 858, 863 (3d Cir.1992). In establishing categories of defendants for use in the sentencing guidelines, Congress instructed the Commission to consider eleven attributes, including the defendant’s criminal history. See 28 U.S.C. § 994(d)(10); Parson, 955 F.2d at 863-64. "Congress particularly wanted to ensure that recidivist violent and drug offenders received stiller sentences, near the maximum term authorized for each crime, to remove such dangerous offenders from the streets and to deal more effectively with the growing problems of violent crime.” Parson, 955 F.2d at 864. Consequently, Congress instructed the Commission to ensure that the guidelines specify imprisonment terms at or near the maximum authorized for defendants who commit a "crime of violence.” Id.; see 28 U.S.C. § 994(h). Thus, §§ 4B1.1 and 4B1.2, the career offender provisions, reflect Congress's desire to protect the public from dangerous criminals who commit violent crimes.