Sykes v. United States
Issues
Whether fleeing from a law enforcement officer in a vehicle is similar both in kind and in the degree of risk posed as the Armed Career Criminal Act's specifically enumerated felonies of burglary, arson, extortion, and crimes involving the use of explosives.
Faced with a prison sentence of more than fifteen years for committing three “violent felonies” under the Armed Career Criminal Act (“ACCA”), Marcus Sykes is challenging the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling that his conviction under Indiana law for fleeing from law enforcement officers in a vehicle constitutes a “violent felony.” Sykes argues that classifying his offense as a “violent felony” presumes that there is violence associated with flight from police. According to Sykes, such speculation by the courts may undermine the Sixth Amendment rights of individuals faced with a mandatory sentence enhancement and is inconsistent with the Supreme Court’s ruling that other offenses with a similar propensity for violence are not “violent felonies.” However, the United States contends that fleeing from police in a vehicle is both violent in nature and in practice, as it poses a risk of serious harm to law enforcement officers and members of the public. In light of this danger of violence, the United States believes that the Seventh Circuit properly treated vehicular flight as a “violent felony” under the ACCA. The Supreme Court’s decision would help resolve the disagreement between the Seventh and the Eleventh Circuit over this issue.
Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties
Whether using a vehicle while knowingly or intentionally fleeing from a law enforcement officer after being ordered to stop constitutes a "violent felony" under the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. § 924(e).
In 2008, police observed Marcus Sykes toss aside a gun after aborting his attempt to rob two individuals outside a liquor store in Indianapolis, Indiana. See United States v. Sykes, 598 F.3d 334, 335 (7th Cir. 2010). Police arrested Sykes for brandishing a gun, and Sykes subsequently pleaded guilty on July 22, 2008 to being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C.
Edited by
Additional Resources
· Life Sentences Blog, Michael O’Hear: Rethinking the Categorical Approach to the ACCA (Jan. 4, 2011)
· Wisconsin Law Journal Staff: High Court Accepts Five Criminal Cases (Oct. 1, 2010)