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On March 2, 2021, in a rare
en banc decision,
United States v. Scott, the Second
Circuit held in a divided 9-5 opinion that New York first-degree
manslaughter is categorically a “violent felony” under
the Armed Career Criminal Act potentially subjecting
defendants to the statute s mandatory minimum
sentences and a “crime of violence” under the
Career Offender provision of the Sentencing Guidelines, regardless
of the fact that manslaughter can be carried out by omission.
Gerald Scott was convicted of three federal crimes in
2006. At sentencing, the district court applied the mandatory
Associated Press NEW YORK Once annually, sometimes less, the full federal appeals court in New York meets to confront a perplexing legal question. Most recently, it was to decide whether shooting somebody point-blank in the face and stabbing somebody to death are violent acts. The 14 judges of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan who heard arguments in U.S. v. Gerald Scott were left to decide how to label the 1998 killings that they agreed were “undoubtedly brutal.” Ultimately, the full court voted 9-to-5 this week to conclude that Scott’s crimes were indeed violent. But their votes came with a robust debate over a legal puzzle that has vexed multiple federal courts even if, they agreed, the answer might seem like common sense.
The debate comes up after a lower court had concluded that under certain circumstances, manslaughter can be a crime of omission in which no force is used.
Debaten si homicidio involuntario implica violencia elvocero.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from elvocero.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Courts wrestle with whether manslaughter is always viol accesswdun.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from accesswdun.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.