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Tenth Limits Meaning of "Forcible Sex Offense" in Guidelines

By Shari Allison

U.S. v. Dennis, 2008 WL 5274098 (12/22/08) (Published) - An excellent guideline "crime of violence" decision. The taking of indecent liberties with a minor in Wyoming is not a "forcible sex offense" and does not present a serious potential risk of physical injury to another under § 4B1.2. The Wyoming statute covered activities that are otherwise permissible between consenting adults when one of the parties is under 18. No force was required so it was not a forcible sex offense. [Note the where-the-consent-is-invalid amendment to "forcible sex offenses" in the § 2L1.2 definition of "crime of violence" might make Dennis unhelpful in the § 2L1.2 context]. The statute did not "necessarily" involve conduct that presented the same kind of risk as the other enumerated offenses, e...continue to full post

Full post as published by Tenth Circuit Blog on January 05, 2009 (boomark / email).