US v. Johnson, 88-CR-20054-BC.

• Decision Date: 13 December 1988
• Docket Number: No. 88-CR-20054-BC.,88-CR-20054-BC.
• Citation: 704 F. Supp. 1398
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. MacNeal JOHNSON a/k/a McNeal Johnson a/k/a Mack Neal Johnson, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Michigan

704 F. Supp. 1398

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. MacNeal JOHNSON a/k/a McNeal Johnson a/k/a Mack Neal Johnson, Defendant.

No. 88-CR-20054-BC.

United States District Court, E.D. Michigan, N.D.

December 13, 1988.

Michael J. Hluchaniuk, Asst. U.S. Atty., Bay City, Mich., for plaintiff.

Benjamin L. Crossley, W.F. Allen & Associates, Saginaw, Mich., for defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

CHURCHILL, District Judge.

In this criminal matter, the Government's motion for pretrial detention of Defendant MacNeal Johnson requires the Court to revisit its determination that the crime of being a felon in possession of a firearm is a "crime of violence" as contemplated by the Bail Reform Act. See United States v. Jones, 651 F.Supp. 1309, 1310 (E.D.Mich.1987) (interpreting "crime of violence" as defined by 18 U.S.C. § 3156(a)(4) and utilized in 18 U.S.C. § 3142(f)(1)(A)). Because the Court finds that subsequent interpretations of the term "crime of violence" have not undermined the Jones decision's logic, the Court reaffirms its interpretation of the "felon in possession" crime as a "crime of violence" sufficient to justify a pretrial detention hearing. See generally 18 U.S.C. § 3142(f)(1).

I. Facts

On October 19, 1988, the Grand Jury handed down an indictment charging Defendant Johnson as a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).¹ See Indictment. At Defendant Johnson's arraignment on November 9, 1988 before Magistrate Charles Binder, the Government expressed its intention to seek an order of pretrial detention pursuant to the Bail Reform Act. Cf. 18 U.S.C. § 3142. On November 14, 1988, Magistrate Binder conducted a detention hearing and concluded that Defendant Johnson should be detained. Soon thereafter, the Magistrate issued supplemental findings of fact to support his decision on the pretrial detention motion; these fact findings include a specific cite to Jones, 651 F.Supp. 1309, for the proposition that Defendant Johnson has been charged with a "crime of violence." See Additional Fact Findings, ¶ 1(a) (Nov. 16, 1988).

In response to Defendant Johnson's motion for review of the Magistrate's pretrial detention order, the Court conducted a de novo hearing on the pretrial detention issue. At the hearing before the Court, the Government took the position that the indictment charges a "crime of violence," a predicate to pretrial detention. See 18 U.S. C. § 3142(f)(1)(A). Moreover, the Government expressly disclaimed reliance on any other potential predicate.² See id. § 3142(f)(1)(B), (C) & (D). The Government, therefore, acknowledged that pretrial detention would be inappropriate if the Court were to reject the holding in Jones. Thus, the Magistrate's detention order can only stand if Jones is still good law, which Defendant Johnson contends it is not.

In Defendant Johnson's view, this Court's interpretation of a "crime of violence" cannot be squared with the meaning assigned to the term by the United States Sentencing Commission. Compare Jones, 651 F.Supp. at 1310 with United States Sentencing Commission, Guidelines Manual § 4B1.2, Application Note 1 (1988). The Sentencing Commission derived its interpretation of a "crime of violence" from 18 U.S.C. § 16, see id. § 4B1.2(1), which employs language identical to the statutory terminology construed in Jones. Compare 18 U.S.C. § 16 (defining "crime of violence") with id. § 3142(f)(1)(A) (same). Accordingly, the Court must compare the statutory formulation of a "crime of violence" to the Jones and Sentencing Commission interpretations to determine which interpretation more accurately reflects congressional intent.

II. Title 18 "Crimes of Violence"

Although Congress has defined "crimes of violence" in several sections of Title 18, see 18 U.S.C. §§ 16, 924(c)(3), 3156(a)(4), the term "crime of violence" has been uniformly defined in all of these Title 18 sections. Specifically, Title 18 consistently speaks of a "crime of violence" as:

(a) an offense that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another or

(b) any other 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.

18 U.S.C. § 16; accord 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(3), 3156(a)(4). This consistency is neither surprising nor coincidental. Sections 16 and 3156(a)(4) of Title 18 were both included in the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, Pub.L. No. 98-473, Title II, §§ 203(c) & 1001(a), 98 Stat. 1837, 1985 & 2136 (1984), and the legislative history of the Act recognizes this fact. See S.Rep. No. 225, 98th Cong., 2d Sess. 307 n. 9, reprinted in 1984 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News 3182, 3486 n. 9. Soon thereafter, Congress amended 18 U.S.C. § 924 to also include a similar definition of "crime of violence." See Firearms Owners' Protection Act, Pub.L. No. 99-308, § 104(a), 100 Stat. 449, 457 (1986).

In moving to provide a uniform definition of "crimes of violence," Congress concurrently jettisoned a more limited conception of "crimes of violence" previously included in Title 18. See 18 U.S.C. § 4251, repealed by Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984, Pub.L. No. 98-473, Title II, § 218(a)(6), 98 Stat. 2027 (1984). While repealed § 4251 of Title 18 restricted "crimes of violence" to the following offenses:

voluntary manslaughter, murder, rape, mayhem, kidnapping, robbery, burglary or housebreaking in the nighttime, extortion accompanied by threats of violence, assault with a dangerous weapon or assault with intent to commit any offense punishable by imprisonment for more than one year, arson punishable as a felony, or an attempt or conspiracy to commit any of the foregoing offenses,

18 U.S.C. § 4251 (repealed 1984), the revised standard adopted in 1984 characterizes a "crime of violence" in more nebulous and seemingly more expansive terms. See, e.g., 18 U.S.C. §§ 16 & 3156(a)(4).

Congressional intent to expand the "crime of violence" concept while creating a universally applicable definition of the term is clearly evident in the legislative history. See 1984 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News at 3486-87. With respect to subsection (b) of the uniform definition, see, e.g., 18 U.S.C. §§ 16(b) & 3156(a)(4)(B), the Senate Report explains that:

offenses such as burglary in violation of State law and the Assimilative Crime Acts would be included in the latter category inasmuch as such an offense would involve the substantial risk of physical force against another person or against the property.

1984 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News at 3487 (emphasis added). This statement unequivocally indicates that courts should weigh the risk of force associated with a crime in determining whether the crime is one "of violence." A finding of "substantial risk," see id., in Congress' view, should perforce result in a ruling that the crime under scrutiny is a "crime of violence." See 18 U.S.C. §§ 16(b) & 3156(a)(4)(B); see also 1984 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News at 3487.

Beyond the expansive nature of the "crime of violence" concept, one additional salient point emanates from the text and legislative history of the uniform definition. Specifically, Congress intended courts to look to the nature of the offense, rather than to the facts of each individual commission of the offense, in deciding whether a "crime of violence" has occurred. See 18 U.S.C. §§ 16 (any offense "that, by its nature, involves a substantial risk of physical force") & 3156(a)(4)(B) (same); see also 1984 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News at 3486-87. Each generic offense must be categorized as either a "crime of violence" or not a crime of violence; there cannot be a justification for ad hoc classification of criminal activity. See United States v. Chimurenga, 760 F.2d 400, 404 (2d Cir. 1985); cf. United States v. Headspeth, 852 F.2d 753, 759 (4th Cir.1988) (interpreting 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)(ii) "violent felony" definition). Against this backdrop, the Court must evaluate the Jones and Sentencing Commission definitions of "crimes of violence" to ascertain which formulation is more consistent with congressional intent.

III. Competing Interpretations of "Crimes of Violence"

On January 23, 1987, this Court issued an opinion holding that the crime of being a felon in possession of a firearm is a "crime of violence" for purposes of the Bail Reform Act. See Jones, 651 F.Supp. 1309. During the following year, the United States Sentencing Commission promulgated sentencing guidelines accompanied by interpretative commentary interspersed throughout the Guidelines Manual. See United States Sentencing Commission, Guidelines Manual (1988). In an explanatory Application Note, the Sentencing Commission offered an interpretation of "crimes of violence" that arguably conflicts with the Jones formulation. Each of these two definitions, therefore, must be analyzed in some detail before either of the two can be applied in the case at bar.

A. United States v. Jones

In United States v. Jones, 651 F.Supp. 1309, this Court addressed the general nature of illicit firearm possession by felons and ruled that such illegal firearm possession constitutes a "crime of violence." Id. at 1310. In reaching this conclusion, the Court offered four independent arguments explaining why possession of a firearm by a felon, by its very nature, "involves the substantial risk of physical force against another person." Cf. 1984 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News at 3487. The Court noted that felons are "more likely to use firearms in an irresponsible manner." Jones, 651 F.Supp. at 1310. Also, felons in possession of firearms are acutely aware that such activity is illegal, so their acts of possessing weapons illustrate knowing disregard for legal obligations imposed upon them. Id. Moreover, felons are more likely to commit crimes, so their possession of guns simply compounds the likelihood...