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Whitson: Non-overt act conspiracy not "crime of violence"

By Tim Cone

In U.S. v. Whitson, No. 09-10521 (Feb. 24, 2010), applying Begay v. U.S., the Court held that a prior conviction for a non-overt act conspiracy was not a ?crime of violence? for purposes of Career Offender eligibility under USSG § 4B1.1The Court noted that the South Carolina conspiracy statute under which Whitson was previously convicted does not require an overt act. Further, the ?agreement? that constitutes a conspiracy is not, without more, violent or aggressive. The Court rejected the Fourth Circuit?s contrary holding that a conspiracy cannot be divorced from its violent objective, and that a conspiracy increases the likelihood of violence. The Court held that Begay requires looking at the conspiracy ?alone? to determine whether the conspiracy was ?violent...continue to full post

Full post as published by Defense Newsletter Blog on February 26, 2010 (boomark / email).