United States v. Rose

The First Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of Defendants’ motions brought under 28 U.S.C. 2255 to vacate, set aside, or correct their sentences, holding (1) the Rhode Island offense of assault with a dangerous weapon (A/BDW) does not constitute a violent felony under Armed Career Criminals Act’s (ACCA) force clause; and (2) therefore, Defendants no longer have the three predicate convictions necessary to support their original sentences.In their section 2255 motions, Defendants argued that, in light of Johnson v. United States (Johnson II), 135 S. Ct. 2551 (2015), their convictions for Rhode Island A/BDW, see R.I. Gen. Laws 11-5-2(a), no longer qualified as predicate convictions triggering the ACCA’s mandatory fifteen-year sentence, see 18 U.S.C. 924(e). The First Circuit agreed, concluding that Rhode Island A/BDW is not categorically a violent felony under the ACCA. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the assault form of Rhode Island A/BDW does not satisfy the force clause, and therefore, Rhode Island A/BDW is not a violent felony under ACCA. View "United States v. Rose" on Justia Law