UNITED STATES v. JURANEK (2021)

United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit.2021-06-15No. No. 20-1078

Summary · law.co

Holding. The court vacated the district court's sentencing order and remanded for reconsideration in light of the Supreme Court's decision in Borden v. United States.

Maurice Juranek pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. At sentencing, a dispute arose over whether his two prior convictions for third-degree assault under Colorado law qualified as crimes of violence under the Sentencing Guidelines. The government argued they did, which would result in a much higher sentencing range of 77 to 96 months, while Juranek contended they did not, pointing to a lower range of 30 to 37 months. The district court sided with the government and imposed a 60-month sentence after granting a downward variance.

Juranek appealed, arguing that Colorado third-degree assault should not count as a crime of violence because the offense can be committed with a reckless mental state, not necessarily purposeful or knowing use of force. The court initially held the appeal in abeyance pending guidance from the Supreme Court. After the Supreme Court issued its decision in Borden v. United States on June 10, 2021, which addressed related questions about the definition of violent felonies, the appellate court determined that the prior sentencing decision needed to be reconsidered in light of that new precedent.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

Whether prior convictions for Colorado third-degree assault qualify as crimes of violence under the Sentencing Guidelines
Whether an offense that can be committed with a reckless mental state satisfies the force clause of the crime of violence definition
Application of the Supreme Court's Borden decision to the guidelines' crime of violence standard

Procedural posture

The defendant appealed his sentence after the district court classified his prior convictions as crimes of violence, and the appellate court vacated and remanded after the Supreme Court issued relevant guidance in Borden.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion · public domain

ORDER AND JUDGMENT *

Maurice Juranek pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). At sentencing, the government contended that Juraneks two prior convictions for third degree assault under Colorado law were crimes of violence for purposes of the Sentencing Guidelines. See USSG § 4B1.2(a)(1) (“The term ‘crime of violence’ means any offense under federal or state law, punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, that ․ has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another[.]”). As a result, the government argued Juraneks base offense level was 24, pursuant to USSG. § 2K2.1(a)(2), with an advisory guidelines range of 77 to 96 months’ incarceration. Juranek, on the other hand, contended that his prior convictions for Colorado third degree assault did not qualify as crimes of violence, so the applicable sentencing guideline— § 2K2.1(a)(2)—would result in a base offense level of 14. The advisory guidelines range under this calculation would be 30 to 27 months’ incarceration.

The district court agreed with the government and overruled Juraneks objection. The court concluded that Colorado third degree assault is categorically a crime of violence under the Guidelines, setting the base offense level at 24 and the total offense level at 21. Although the resulting guidelines range was 77 to 96 months, the district court granted Juraneks motion for a downward variance and imposed a sentence of 60 months’ in prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Juranek appealed this sentence, arguing (as relevant here) that the district court plainly erred in finding that his prior convictions for Colorado third degree assault satisfied the force clause because those offenses can be committed with a mens rea of recklessness. We abated this appeal pending a decision by the United States Supreme Court in Borden v. United States.

Borden v. United States, No. 19-5410, ––– U.S. ––––, 141 S.Ct. 817, ––– L.Ed.2d ––––, (U.S. June 10, 2021).

The Supreme Court issued its decision in Borden on June 10, 2021, and we now VACATE the district courts sentencing order and REMAND for reconsideration in light of this decision.

FOOTNOTES

. Although Borden deals with the “violent felony” definition in the Armed Career Criminal Act, our precedent treats this provision as parallel to the “crime of violence” definition in the Guidelines. See United States v. Bettcher, 911 F.3d 1040, 1046–47 (10th Cir. 2018) (citing United States v. Ramey, 880 F.3d 447, 448–49 (8th Cir. 2018) (“We see no reason why ‘use’ of force under the guidelines would mean something different from ‘use’ of force under the ACCA.”)).

Timothy M. Tymkovich, Chief Judge