United States v. Young

LIOI, D.J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which GRIFFIN, J., joined. SUTTON, J. (pp. 881-85), delivered a separate opinion concurring in part, dissenting in part and concurring in the judgment.

OPINION

Defendant Michael Young (“Young”) appeals his conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), as well as his 15-year sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA). For the reasons that follow, we affirm both the conviction and the sentence.

I.

On December 15, 2006, at approximately 1:15 a.m., police officers in Grand Rapids, Michigan observed Young asleep in a car in a public parking lot known for numerous shootings and other criminal activity. Based on the high-crime area, the hour of the night, and Young’s unlawful loitering in a city parking lot, one of the officers decided to approach the car to question Young.

When questioned, Young denied having anything illegal on his person, but his repeated “furtive hand movements” over his jacket pocket suggested that he was hiding contraband or a weapon; the officer asked Young to step out of the car. Young complied and informed the officer that he had a gun. Around the same time, the officer’s partner yelled that Young had an outstanding arrest warrant. The officer arrested Young and discovered a gun on his person, which Young admitted was his.

Young was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). He filed a motion to suppress the gun as the fruit of an unconstitutional search and seizure, which the district judge denied. On November 5, 2007, without a written plea agreement, Young changed his plea to guilty, and the *376district judge sentenced him to the minimum 15-year sentence pursuant to ACCA.

II.

Young argues that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress the gun. Sixth Circuit law is clear, however, that a guilty-pleading defendant may not appeal an adverse pre-plea ruling on a motion to suppress evidence unless he has preserved the right to do so in a written plea agreement under Criminal Rule 11(a)(2). United States v. Herrera, 265 F.3d 349, 351 (6th Cir.2001); Fed. R.Crim.P. 11(a)(2). The writing requirement may only be excused if the defendant “made it clear that he wished to preserve his right to appeal, the government acknowledged that he could appeal, and the court accepted that.” United States v. Mastromatteo, 538 F.3d 535, 543 (6th Cir. 2008). The justification for the exception is that even if “the exact format of Rule 11(a)(2)” is not followed, its “intent and purpose have been fulfilled” where the defendant “ma[kes] it very clear that he intended to reserve his right to appeal the denial of [a] suppression motion[].” Id.

In this case, it is undisputed that there was no written plea agreement. Further, neither Young nor his counsel clearly expressed an intention to preserve the suppression issue on appeal. Indeed, during sentencing, the district judge acknowledged on three occasions that the only issue preserved for appeal was the ACCA enhancement, and neither Young nor his counsel objected otherwise.1 Thus, Young is barred from raising the suppression issue on appeal.

III.

Young also challenges his 15-year mandatory minimum sentence. ACCA imposes a 15-year mandatory minimum sentence when a defendant convicted of § 922(g) has three or more prior convictions qualifying as “violent felonies” or “serious drug offenses.” 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1). Young concedes that two of his prior offenses qualify as serious drug offenses, but he argues that his 1997 conviction for fleeing and eluding, second offense under Michigan law does not qualify as a violent felony under ACCA.

The fleeing-and-eluding statute under which Young was convicted states, in relevant part, as follows:

A driver of a motor vehicle who is given by hand, voice, emergency light, or siren a visual or audible signal by a police or conservation officer, acting in the lawful performance of his or her duty, directing the driver to bring his or her motor vehicle to a stop, and who willfully fails to obey that direction by increasing the speed of the vehicle, extinguishing the lights of the vehicle, or otherwise attempting to flee or elude the police or conservation officer, is guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than 30 days nor more than 1 year....

Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.602a(l) (1996). If a person violates that provision within five years of a prior fleeing-and-eluding conviction, the offense is punishable as a felony by a term of imprisonment up to and including four years. Id. at § 257.602a(4).

*377A “violent felony” under ACCA is an offense that is punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year and either (1) “has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another,” or (2) “is burglary, arson, or extortion, involves the use of explosives, or otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.” 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B). Young’s offense was punishable by a term of imprisonment exceeding one year, as he was convicted for a second fleeing and eluding offense within five years; thus, Young’s fleeing- and-eluding conviction satisfies the threshold requirement of ACCA. Young’s conviction, however, does not have as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of force, nor is it a type of burglary, arson, extortion, or an offense involving the use of explosives. Thus, the issue before the Court is whether Young’s conviction falls under ACCA’s “residual clause” — that is, whether it “involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.” 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)®.

An offense falls within ACCA’s residual clause if it (1) poses a serious potential risk of physical injury to others; and (2) involves the same kind of purposeful, violent, and aggressive conduct as the enumerated offenses of burglary, arson, extortion, or offenses involving the use of explosives. Begay v. United States, — U.S. -, 128 S.Ct. 1581, 1586, 170 L.Ed.2d 490 (2008); United States v. Ford, 560 F.3d 420, 421 (6th Cir.2009). In conducting that inquiry, we are to use the “categorical approach,” meaning that we examine only “whether the elements of the offense are of the type that would justify its inclusion within the residual provision.” James v. United States, 550 U.S. 192, 202, 127 S.Ct. 1586, 167 L.Ed.2d 532 (2007) (emphasis in original). Further, we only consider the behavior underlying the offense as it is generally or ordinarily committed, Chambers v. United States, — U.S.-, 129 S.Ct. 687, 690, 172 L.Ed.2d 484 (2009); James, 550 U.S. at 208, 127 S.Ct. 1586, “not in terms of how an individual offender might have committed [the offense] on a particular occasion,” Begay, 128 S.Ct. at 1584.

Under the categorical approach of James, Begay, and Chambers, we hold that Young’s conviction qualifies as a violent felony under ACCA. Young’s conviction clearly involved purposeful conduct, as Michigan’s fleeing-and-eluding statute applies only to those “who willfully fail[ ] to obey [an officer’s] direction.” Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.602a(l) (1996). See United States v. Roseboro, 551 F.3d 226, 236 & n. 5 (4th Cir.2009) (noting that Michigan’s fleeing-and-eluding statute requires the violation to be purposeful); compare United States v. Spells, 537 F.3d 743, 749 (7th Cir.2008) (mens rea element of “knowingly or intentionally” presumed purposeful conduct); United States v. West, 550 F.3d 952, 960-61, 970 (10th Cir.2008) (statute prohibiting operating a vehicle “in willful or wanton disregard of [an officer’s] signal” involved purposeful conduct).

Moreover, an ordinary violation of Michigan^ fleeing-and-eluding statute involves aggressive conduct. A deliberate attempt to flee or elude a police officer in a motor vehicle constitutes “a clear challenge to the officer’s authority,” United States v. Harrimon, 568 F.3d 531, 535 (5th Cir.2009), and it usually will “call[ ] the officer to give chase,” Spells, 537 F.3d at 752; West, 550 F.3d at 969. This is especially true when an offender flees in the manner proscribed by the Michigan statute, i.e., “by increasing the speed of the vehicle, extinguishing the lights of the vehicle, or otherwise attempting to flee or elude.... ” Mich. Comp. Laws § 257.602a(l) (1996). Fleeing and eluding also is generally aggressive *378because it “typically lead[s] to a confrontation” between the offender and the officer. Harrimon, 568 F.3d at 535 (quoting West, 550 F.3d at 970); see also Roseboro, 551 F.3d at 240 (“The intentional act of disobeying a law enforcement officer by refusing to stop for his blue light signal, without justification, is inherently an aggressive and violent act.” (citation omitted)).

Finally, fleeing and eluding involves violent conduct that poses a serious potential risk of physical injury to others. The purpose of fleeing in a motor vehicle is to avoid detention or arrest by a police officer, and offenders typically attempt to flee by any means necessary, including speeding, extinguishing lights at nighttime, driving the wrong way, weaving, etc.2 See West, 550 F.3d at 964 (“[U]nder the stress and urgency which will naturally attend his situation, a person fleeing from law enforcement will likely drive recklessly and turn any pursuit into a high-speed chase with potential for serious harm to police or innocent bystanders.” (citations omitted)); Harrimon, 568 F.3d at 536 (Given the “marked likelihood of pursuit and confrontation” in fleeing-and-eluding offenses, “in the typical case, an offender fleeing from an attempted stop or arrest will not hesitate to endanger others to make good his or her escape.”); see also Roseboro, 551 F.3d at 240. Those actions nearly always pose a substantial danger to pedestrians, other motorists, passengers, and pursuing officers. See Spells, 537 F.3d at 752; West, 550 F.3d at 964-65. Not only is such risk of violence intuitive, but it has been borne out empirically. As the Fifth Circuit noted, in a study involving fifty-six law enforcement agencies across the country, 314 injuries (including fatalities) resulted from 7,737 reported pursuits. Harrimon, 568 F.3d at 537 (citation omitted). That constitutes a rate of .04 injuries-per-pursuit and exceeds the rate of injuries-per-arson, an offense specifically enumerated in ACCA.3 Id.

Indeed, classifying Young’s conviction as a violent felony accords with the purpose of ACCA. As indicated by its title, “the Armed Career Criminal Act focuses upon the special danger created when a particular type of offender ... possesses a gun.” Begay, 128 S.Ct. at 1587 (citations omitted). Begay held that ACCA only included as violent felonies those “crimes involving] ... purposeful, ‘violent,’ and ‘aggressive’ conduct” because those offenses “[are] such that [they] make[] more likely that an offender, later possessing a gun, will use that gun deliberately to harm a victim,” and are themselves “potentially more dangerous when firearms are involved.” Id. at 1586 (citations omitted). With respect to fleeing and eluding, if an offender is willing to drive recklessly to elude a police officer, without regard for the safety of bystanders or pursuing officers, it is likely that the offender would not hesitate to use a gun deliberately to harm a victim in another context. Moreover, fleeing and *379eluding itself is potentially more dangerous when firearms are involved. Given that fleeing and eluding, in the ordinary case, provokes a confrontation between the offender and an officer, a firearm could quickly change the confrontation from a scuffle to a shootout. Again, statistics support that conclusion — as the Seventh Circuit noted, one-fourth of all state and federal inmates convicted for brandishing or displaying a firearm did so in an effort to evade capture. Spells, 537 F.3d at 752 n. 3 (citing U.S. Dep’t of Justice, Survey of Inmates in State and Federal Correctional Facilities: Firearm Use by Offenders 11, Table 14 (Nov.2001)). Therefore, “[a]n individual’s purposeful decision to flee an officer in a vehicle when told to stop, reflects that if the same individual were in possession of a firearm and asked to stop by police, they [sic] would have a greater propensity to use that firearm in an effort to evade arrest.” Id. at 752; see also West, 550 F.3d at 970.

Young argues that this Court already determined in United States v. Foreman, 436 F.3d 638 (6th Cir.2006), that fleeing and eluding simpliciter does not pose a serious potential risk of physical injury to others, and that we must therefore remand for resentencing4 “Although a panel of this Court cannot overrule the decision of another panel, [it] may modify ... prior holdings when an intervening opinion of the United States Supreme Court requires [it] to do so.” Caswell v. City of Detroit Housing Comm’n, 418 F.3d 615, 618 n. 1 (6th Cir.2005); United States v. Smith, 73 F.3d 1414, 1418 (6th Cir.1996). We find Foreman’s analysis to be inconsistent with James — as well as Begay and Chambers, which reaffirmed James — and therefore hold that Foreman does not govern this case.

Prior to James, we twice considered whether fleeing and eluding under an amended version of Michigan’s fleeing- and-eluding statute qualified as a “crime of violence” under the career-offender provision of the sentencing guidelines, U.S.S.G. § 4Bl.l(a).5 Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.479a (1997). Under the amended statute, “fourth-degree fleeing and eluding” required proof of the same elements as the statute under which Young was convicted: (1) use of a motor vehicle, (2) an order to stop the vehicle by an officer in the lawful performance of his duty, and (3) willful disobedience of that order by speeding, extinguishing the vehicle’s lights, or otherwise attempting to flee or elude the officer. Id. at § 950.479a(l). An offender *380who caused a collision, fled in a 35 mile-per-hour zone, or had a prior conviction for fourth-degree fleeing and eluding, meanwhile, was liable for “third-degree fleeing and eluding.” Id. at § 950.479a(3).

In United States v. Martin, 378 F.3d 578 (6th Cir.2004), we held that convictions with either of two additional circumstances — causing a collision and/or fleeing in a 35 mile-per-hour zone — qualified third-degree fleeing and eluding as a crime of violence. Id. at 583. We recently reaffirmed Martin in United States v. LaCasse, 567 F.3d 763 (6th Cir.2009), which also concerned third-degree fleeing and eluding with the additional circumstances of causing a collision and/or fleeing in a 35 mile-per-hour zone.6 Two years later, we decided in Foreman that, because fourth-degree fleeing and eluding did not involve either of the additional circumstances at issue in Martin, “the categorical approach is not determinative of whether fourth degree fleeing and eluding is a ‘crime of violence.’ ” Foreman, 436 F.3d at 643. Foreman remanded the case to determine whether' “the facts [underlying the defendant’s offense] demonstrate a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.” Id. (emphasis in original).

In 2007, after we decided Foreman, the Supreme Court announced for the first time that, when applying the categorical approach to an unenumerated offense, courts must determine “whether the conduct encompassed by the elements of the offense, in the ordinary case, presents a serious potential risk of injury to another.” 7 James, 550 U.S. at 208, 127 S.Ct. 1586 (emphasis added). The Court reaffirmed that approach in Begay and Chambers. Begay, 128 S.Ct. at 1584; Chambers, 129 S.Ct. at 690. Foreman, however, did not engage in the analysis prescribed by James; indeed, the panel in Foreman could not have known to do so because Foreman pre-dated James. Rather, Foreman simply reasoned that, because fourth-degree fleeing and eluding can conceivably be committed without causing a serious potential risk of injury to others, “the categorical approach is not determinative.” Foreman, 436 F.3d at 643. That Foreman relied upon such reasoning is especially significant upon examination of its remedy: remand to the district court to determine whether “the facts demonstrate a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.”8 Id. (emphasis in original). As the *381Supreme Court clarified subsequent to Foreman, however, such a fact-based remedy is impermissible because courts may not examine “how an individual offender might have committed [the offense] on a particular occasion,” but only how an offense is ordinarily committed based upon its elements. James, 550 U.S. at 208, 127 S.Ct. 1586; Begay, 128 S.Ct. at 1584; Chambers, 129 S.Ct. at 690. Under the guidance given in James, Begay, and Chambers, the mere fact that an offense can be committed without posing a serious potential risk of injury does not mean that the offense as ordinarily committed does not pose such a risk. See James, 550 U.S. at 207-08, 127 S.Ct. 1586 (rejecting the argument that a state attempted burglary offense qualified as a violent felony only if all cases presented a serious potential risk of physical harm). Indeed, even “prototypically violent erime[s],” such as burglary, extortion, and attempted murder, can be committed in such a way as to pose no genuine risk of injury. Id.

For the foregoing reasons, we find that Foreman is no longer controlling precedent in light of James, Begay, and Chambers. Further, we hold that Young’s conviction under Michigan’s fleeing-and-eluding statute qualifies as a violent felony under ACCA. Accordingly, the district court did not err in applying ACCA’s enhancement.

IV.

For these reasons, we affirm Young’s conviction and sentence.