United State v. Garcia-Jimenez

Where a state statute’s required mens rea is more broad than a federal statute, the crime will not constitute a crime of violence; a crime-of-violence sentencing enhancement will therefore be improper.

Alberto Garcia-Jimenez was convicted for illegally reentering the United Staes. Due to Garcia-Jimenez previously having been convicted for aggravated assault, this incidentally increased his State sentence because it constituted a “crime of violence” under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines section 2L1.2. Garcia-Jimenez timely appealed, arguing that under the generic federal offense definition for aggravated assault, which increased his sentence because it qualified as a “crime of violence”, was not actually appropriate in his case. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit decided whether Garcia-Jimenez’s prior crime actually constituted a “crime of violence.” The panel explained that because the state had a broader definition of mens rea required for this crime than that of the federal definition, to have increased Garcia-Jimenez sentence based on a crime-of-violence enhancement was improper and harmful. VACATED and REMANDED FOR RESENTENCING.