US v. Clay, 09-4572

Sentence vacated and reversed in conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm

US v. Clay, 09-4572, concerned a challenge to the district court's imposition of a 60-month sentence, in a conviction of defendant for being a felon in possession of a firearm.  In vacating the sentence, the court remanded the case for resentencing as the district court erred in calculating defendant's sentencing range under the Guidelines by counting his conviction for felony escape under Georgia law as a "crime of violence" under U.S.S.G. section 2K2.1(a)(4)(A) as the term "crime of violence" is defined by U.S.S.G. section 4B1.2(a).

As the court wrote: "We agree with the rationale of our sister circuits, and thus hold that the generic crime of walk-away escape from an unsecured facility does not qualify as a crime of violence under USSG section 4B1.2(a)'s Otherwise Clause.  Analogous to the Supreme Court's reasoning in Chambers that a defendant's failure to report to custody (or failure to return to custody) is "a far cry" from the type of conduct associated with the enumerated crimes in the ACCA's Otherwise Clause, Chambers, 129 S. Ct. at 692, a walk-away escape from an unsecured facility is a far cry from the type of conduct associated with the enumerated crimes in section 4B1.2(a)'s Otherwise Clause."

Related Link:

• Read the Fourth Circuit's Full Decision in US v. Clay, 09-4572