Assault With Intent to Murder is ACCA Violent Felony

US v. Battle: Battle pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Prior to that conviction he had sustained a conviction in Maryland for assault with intent to murder, along with two convictions for distributing drugs. As a result, when he was sentenced in 2011 he was sentenced to 180 months in prison under the Armed Career Criminal Act.  After Johnson, he received permission to file a second or successive 2255 motion and argued that the assault conviction was no longer a violent felony for ACCA purposes. The district court denied the motion.

On appeal, the Fourth Circuit affirmed the denial of Battle’s 2255 motion, concluding that assault with intent to murder is a violent felony. Noting that the offense required a “specific intent to bring about the death of the assault victim,” the court held that such an assault requires the level of violent force necessary to be a violent felony. It rejected Battle’s argument that a conviction could be had via indirect force (such as via poisoning), relying once again on the Supreme Court’s Castleman decision. The court also noted that Battle could not point to any Maryland state cases where such an assault was committed by omission.