Seventh Circuit Review
Article Title
Abstract
This Comment considers whether reckless homicide should be considered a "crime of violence" under the United States Sentencing Guidelines. The Guidelines provide for a sentence enhancement for those defendants who are labeled as career offenders. Career offenders are those individuals who have at least three convictions for either drug offenses or "crimes of violence." In United States v. Begay, the United States Supreme Court held that in order for a predicate offense to be a crime of violence, the crime must be "purposeful, aggressive, and violent." The Seventh Circuit recently held in United States v. Woods that reckless homicide does not meet Begay' s "purposeful" requirement. Ultimately, the Seventh Circuit's holding is inconsistent with the goals behind the Sentencing Guidelines and the Armed Career Criminal Act and should be revisited by the court.
Recommended Citation
Amanda J. Schackart,
Finding Intent Without Mens Rea: A Modified Categorical Approach to Sentencing Under the United States Sentencing Guidelines,
5
Seventh Circuit Rev.
71
(2009).
Available at:
https://scholarship.kentlaw.iit.edu/seventhcircuitreview/vol5/iss1/4