U.S. v. Hayes

Decision Date16 April 2007
Docket NumberNo. 06-4087.,06-4087.
PartiesUNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Randy Edward HAYES, Defendant-Appellant.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

ARGUED: Troy Nino Giatras, Charleston, West Virginia, for Appellant. Shawn Angus Morgan, Assistant United States Attorney, Office of the United States Attorney, Clarksburg, West Virginia, for Appellee. ON BRIEF: Rita R. Valdrini, Acting United States Attorney, Clarksburg, West Virginia, for Appellee.

Before WILLIAMS, MICHAEL, and KING, Circuit Judges.

Reversed and remanded by published opinion. Judge KING wrote the majority opinion, in which Judge MICHAEL joined. Judge WILLIAMS wrote a dissenting opinion.

KING, Circuit Judge.

Randy Edward Hayes appeals from the district court's denial of his motion to dismiss an indictment charging him with three counts of possessing firearms after having been convicted of the predicate offense of a "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" (an "MCDV"), in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(9) and 924(a)(2). See United States v. Hayes, No. 1:05cr03 (N.D. W. Va. June 24, 2005) (the "Order").1 Hayes was convicted in the Northern District of West Virginia after he entered a conditional guilty plea to one of the indictment's three counts. He maintains on appeal that his predicate offense was not an MCDV as that term is defined in 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(33)(A) (the "MCDV Definition"), and that the charges in the indictment thus fail as a matter of law. As explained below, we agree with Hayes and reverse.

I.

In 1994, Hayes pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor battery offense under West Virginia law, in the magistrate court of Marion County, West Virginia (the "1994 State Offense"). The victim of the 1994 State Offense was Hayes's then wife, Mary Ann (now Mary Carnes), with whom he lived and had a child. As a result of the 1994 State Offense, Hayes was sentenced to a year of probation.

Ten years later, on July 25, 2004, the authorities in Marion County were summoned to Hayes's home in response to a domestic violence 911 call. When police officers arrived at Hayes's home, he consented to a search thereof, and a Winchester rifle was discovered. Hayes was arrested and, on January 4, 2005, indicted in federal court on three charges of possessing firearms after having been convicted of an MCDV, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(9) and 924(a)(2).2 Hayes filed a motion challenging the validity of the indictment and, on May 4, 2005, the grand jury returned a superseding indictment against him. The superseding indictment included the same three charges contained in the initial indictment, plus a "Notice of Additional Factors," alleging that Hayes had been convicted in West Virginia state court in 1994 on a misdemeanor battery offense that satisfied the definition of an MCDV.3

Hayes sought dismissal of the superseding indictment, maintaining that it was legally flawed because his 1994 State Offense was not an MCDV under federal law. On June 11, 2005, the district court, by a bench ruling, denied Hayes's motion to dismiss. On July 5, 2005, Hayes entered a conditional guilty plea to Count One of the superseding indictment,4 pursuant to Rule 11(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, thus reserving his right to appeal the denial of his motion to dismiss.5 Hayes thereafter filed a timely notice of appeal, and we possess jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291.

II.

We are presented in this appeal with a pure question of statutory interpretation: whether the MCDV Definition set forth in § 921(a)(33)(A) requires that the predicate offense underlying a § 922(g)(9) conviction have as an element a domestic relationship between the offender and the victim. We review de novo the district court's ruling on this question of law. See United States v. Segers, 271 F.3d 181, 183 (4th Cir.2001).

III.
A.

Hayes maintains on appeal that the district court erred in denying his motion to dismiss the superseding indictment, in that his 1994 State Offense did not have as an element a domestic relationship, and it was thus not an MCDV. Pursuant to § 922(g)(9) of Title 18, under which Hayes was convicted, it is unlawful for any person who has been "convicted in any court of [an MCDV]" to possess a firearm. 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9) (the "Possession Statute"). The 1994 State Offense on which Hayes was convicted was that of simple battery, in violation of West Virginia Code section 61-2-9(c) (the "WV Statute").6 Importantly, the WV Statute does not have as an element a domestic relationship between the offender and his victim. See W. Va.Code § 61-2-9.

In resolving this appeal, we must determine whether the MCDV Definition in § 921(a)(33)(A) requires that an MCDV have as an element a domestic relationship between the offender and the victim. The district court rejected Hayes's contention on this point, relying primarily on our unpublished decision in United States v. Ball, 7 Fed.Appx. 210 (4th Cir.2001).7 In Ball, we deemed the MCDV Definition to require a predicate offense to have only "one element—the use or attempted use of physical force; the relationship between the perpetrator and victim need not appear in the formal definition of the predicate offense." Id. at 213. As explained below, however, the MCDV Definition plainly provides, in its clause (ii), that the predicate offense must have as an element one of certain specified domestic relationships between the offender and the victim.

The statutory reading we adopt with respect to the MCDV Definition is compelled for multiple reasons. First of all, the text and structure of the MCDV Definition plainly require that a predicate offense have as an element one of the specified domestic relationships between the offender and the victim. This reading is also supported by the rule of the last antecedent and is not inconsistent with Congress's use of the singular term "element" in the MCDV Definition. Second, the statutory language of the MCDV Definition is not demonstrably at odds with the legislative intent underlying its adoption by Congress. Finally, even if the MCDV Definition could be deemed ambiguous, the rule of lenity mandates that any such ambiguity be resolved in Hayes's favor. Because the WV Statute has no domestic relationship element, and because such an underpinning is essential to the existence of an MCDV, Hayes's motion to dismiss the superseding indictment should have been granted.

B.
1.

It is elementary, of course, that the starting point for an issue of statutory interpretation is the language of the statute itself. See United States v. Abuagla, 336 F.3d 277, 278 (4th Cir.2003). In that regard, "[w]e must first determine whether the language at issue has a plain and unambiguous meaning with regard to the particular dispute . . . [and] our inquiry must cease if the statutory language is unambiguous and the statutory scheme is coherent and consistent." Id. (internal quotation marks omitted). We assess whether statutory language is plain or ambiguous through our "reference to the language itself, the specific context in which that language is used, and the broader context of the statute as a whole." Robinson v. Shell Oil Co., 519 U.S. 337, 341, 117 S.Ct. 843, 136 L.Ed.2d 808 (1997). "The plain meaning of legislation should be conclusive, except in the rare cases [in which] the literal application of a statute will produce a result demonstrably at odds with the intentions of its drafters." United States v. Ron Pair Enters., Inc. 489 U.S. 235, 242, 109 S.Ct. 1026, 103 L.Ed.2d 290 (1989) (internal quotation marks omitted).

In this situation, the MCDV Definition mandates that a predicate offense be a misdemeanor and have as an element the use of force committed by a person in a domestic relationship with the victim. See 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(33)(A). More specifically, the MCDV Definition provides:

(33)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (C), the term "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" means an offense that—

(i) is a misdemeanor under Federal or State law; and

(ii) has, as an element, the use or attempted use of physical force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon, committed by a current or former spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim, by a person with whom the victim shares a child in common, by a person who is cohabiting with or has cohabited with the victim as a spouse, parent, or guardian, or by a person similarly situated to a spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim[.]

Id. As is readily apparent, the MCDV Definition is structured as a statement of what is being defined, followed by a parallel list of two essential attributes. After identifying the term "misdemeanor crime of domestic violence" as the thing being defined, the MCDV Definition splits into two separate clauses. First, clause (i) provides that an MCDV must be "a misdemeanor under Federal or State law." Id. § 921(a)(33)(A)(i). Next, clause (ii) of the MCDV Definition—the crux of the dispute here—provides that an MCDV must have "as an element, the use or attempted use of physical force, or the threatened use of a deadly weapon, committed by a current or former spouse, parent, or guardian of the victim." Id. § 921(a)(33)(A)(ii).

It is significant that a semicolon has been placed at the end of the MCDV Definition's clause (i), indicating that the attribute contained therein is to be separate and distinct from the attribute contained in clause (ii). See United States v. Naftalin, 441 U.S. 768, 774 n. 5, 99 S.Ct. 2077, 60 L.Ed.2d 624 (1979) (recognizing that punctuation is not always decisive, but finding significant "the use of separate numbers to introduce each subsection, and the fact that the phrase . . . was set off solely as part of [a separate] subsection"). Of even greater significance, there is no corresponding semicolon in the structure or text of clause (ii), and thus no indication that the second of the two attributes in the MCDV Definition...

To continue reading

Request your trial
23 cases
  • In re Aquino
    • United States
    • United States Bankruptcy Courts. Ninth Circuit. U.S. Bankruptcy Court — District of Nevada
    • May 25, 2021
    ......558 Seafort v. Burden ( In re Seafort), 669 F.3d 662, 673-74 (6th Cir. 2012) (same). 337 Although none of these decisions are binding on us, we find the Prigge line of cases persuasive. Parks BAP , 475 B.R. at 707. To resolve the perceived ambiguity created by the "hanging paragraph" ...Hayes , 555 U.S. 415, 427, 129 S. Ct. 1079, 172 L. Ed. 2d 816 (2009) (quoting United States v. Hayes , 482 F.3d 749, 762 (4th Cir. 2007) (Williams, J., ......
  • George v. Duke Energy Retirement Cash Balance Plan
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — District of South Carolina
    • June 2, 2008
    ......§ 1054(b)(1)(H)(i). The court stated that "[t]hese appear to say the same thing, except that the rule for defined-benefit plans tells us what is not allowed, while the rule for defined-contribution plans tells us what works. Either way, the employer can't stop making allocations (or ...The court's inquiry must cease if the statutory language is unambiguous and the statutory scheme is coherent and consistent. United States v. Hayes, 482 F.3d 749, 752 (4th Cir.2007). An undefined term should be construed in accordance with its ordinary or natural meaning. United States v. ......
  • United States v. Foster
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (4th Circuit)
    • March 8, 2012
    ......us out. It has relieved the need for findings because the names themselves announce the nature of the establishments, which are buildings and ...Hayes, 482 F.3d 749, 751 n. 7 (4th Cir.2007) (citing 4th Cir. R. 32.1 for proposition that pre–2007 unpublished opinion is not controlling precedent), ......
  • Torres v. O'quinn
    • United States
    • United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (4th Circuit)
    • July 13, 2010
    ...... here is not in wrestling with the “plain language” of the statute; rather, the problem is that “[t]he statute does not tell us whether the 20 percent-of-income payment is per case or per prisoner.” . Newlin v. Helman, 123 F.3d 429, 436 (7th Cir.1997), . overruled in ... United States v. Hayes, --- U.S. ----, 129 S.Ct. 1079, 172 L.Ed.2d 816 (2009) . (rev'g 482 F.3d 749, 752 (4th Cir.2007) (determining what statutory provision “plainly ......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT