We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.

GREAT HOBBS ACT DECISION, BUT NOT SO FAST…

A detailed, well-reasoned 32-page district court decision holding that a Hobbs Act offense is not a crime of violence has been appealed by the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California.

Two months ago, a district court ruled that the Hobbs Act was not a crime of violence in the wake of Sessions v. Dimaya and United States v. Davis, because an alternate means of committing the crime was to instill “fear of injury, immediate or future” to the person or property of a victim. Fear of future injury to property does not equate to fear of use of physical force against a person, the district court held.

This reasoning, if it spreads, could bring down Hobbs Act offenses as crimes of violence. Apparently, the government fears so, because last week, it appealed the decision to the 9th Circuit. This is not a bad development, because a circuit holding that the Hobbs Act is not a crime of violence would probably force a Supreme Court decision on the issue.

United States v. Chea, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 177651 (N.D.Cal., Oct. 2, 2019)

– Thomas L. Root