Supreme Court's Armed Criminal Career Act case

"The Supreme Court has ruled that driving under the influence is not a 'violent felony' for considerations under the federal Armed Criminal Career Act," a National Law Journal article last week began – "and neither are failure to report to prison or simple battery." There've been seven ACCA decisions in the last five years, the article says, but it doesn't appear that the flow of cases in the lower court pipeline will ease up any time soon. The question now is whether using a vehicle to flee from police after being ordered to stop is inclusionary? -- and the case is Sykes v. United States, which is being heard tomorrow.

The Armed Criminal Career Act was passed by Congress in 1984, amending the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, establishing a mandatory sentence of 15 years and a fine of not more than $25,000 for "armed career criminals." It was amended two years later in 1986.

Sykes in his Petition for certiorari said his 7th. Circuit appeal , last March, was in direct conflict with the 11th. Circuit’s U.S. v. Harrison in 2009 and 9th. Circuit’s U.S. v. Jennings in 2008. The 7th. Circuit followed its earlier holding in United States v. Spells in 2008. (Brief in opposition here )

Sykes also opts that his 7th Circuit decision conflicted with the 8th. Circuit’s 2009 decision in United States v. Tyler, "which held that fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle is not a 'crime of violence' under the United States Sentencing Guidelines, U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1, [ and that ] the Court in Tyler recognized that the 'definitions of 'violent felony' [18 U.S.C. § 924(e)1 and 'crime of violence' [U.S.S.G. § 4Bl.1] are virtually identical." Id. at 725 n3.