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Chambers: Out for a Stroll

By Melody Evans and Kirk Redmond

Your client has a prior conviction for felony escape. In reality, he just walked away from work release, or didn't go back to the half-way house. But he is still tagged with an escape conviction.Later on, that conviction can trigger (with two other qualifying convictions) a 15 year-mandatory minimum for possession of a weapon, or otherwise increase penalties, such as under the career offender provision. The reason: that escape is classified as a 'violent felony,' even when there was absolutely no violence associated with the stroll away from community confinement. That has been the law in the Tenth Circuit, see US v. Gosling, 39 F3d 1140 (10th Cir 1994)(escape conviction is a crime of violence in context of career offender guideline, because "every escape scenario is a powder keg") and US v...continue to full post

Full post as published by Kansas Federal Defender on August 28, 2008 (boomark / email).