Stokeling v. United States

Stokeling v. United States
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued October 9, 2018
Decided January 15, 2019
Full case nameDenard Stokeling v. United States
Docket no.17-5554
Citations586 U.S. ___ (more)
139 S. Ct. 544; 202 L. Ed. 2d 512
Case history
PriorUnited States v. Stokeling, 684 F. App'x 870 (11th Cir. 2017), cert. granted, 138 S. Ct. 1438 (2018).
Holding
A state robbery offense that includes as an element the common law requirement of overcoming "victim resistance" is categorically a "violent felony" under the definition of the term under the Armed Career Criminal Act of 1984, even when only 'slight force' is required to meet the elements of the crime.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
Clarence Thomas · Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Stephen Breyer · Samuel Alito
Sonia Sotomayor · Elena Kagan
Neil Gorsuch · Brett Kavanaugh
Case opinions
MajorityThomas, joined by Breyer, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh
DissentSotomayor, joined by Roberts, Ginsburg, Kagan
Laws applied
Armed Career Criminal Act of 1984

Stokeling v. United States, 586 U.S. ___ (2019), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that state robbery offenses that involve overcoming victim resistance count as "violent felonies" under the definition of that term under the Armed Career Criminal Act of 1984, even when only 'slight force' is required. Under the Armed Career Criminal Act, defendants with three or more violent felonies can face higher sentences when subsequently convicted of a federal firearms-related offense.[1] This case upheld a ruling by the 11th Circuit.[2]

This case was notable because it was the first Supreme Court case heard by Brett Kavanaugh following his appointment to the Supreme Court, and because of the 'unusual' distribution of votes, with Stephen Breyer siding with the more conservative wing of the Court to uphold the 11th circuit's ruling.[2][3][4]

  1. ^ Weiss, Debra (January 16, 2019). "In unusual 5-4 lineup, Supreme Court deems necklace snatching to be violent felony". ABA. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  2. ^ a b "In 11th Circuit Case, Justice Breyer Joins Conservative Wing to Uphold Tougher Prison Sentence". YahooNews. January 15, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  3. ^ Little, Rory (January 16, 2019). "Opinion analysis: Interesting 5-4 coalition holds that the ACCA reaches robberies that require force sufficient to overcome resistance". SCOTUSBlog. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  4. ^ Walsh, Mark (October 18, 2018). "A "view" from the courtroom: Justice Kavanaugh takes the bench". SCOTUSBlog. Retrieved November 22, 2019.