United States v. Jeremy D. Burnett

Summary

The Eighth Circuit affirmed Jeremy D. Burnett’s statutory-maximum ten-year sentence for being a felon in possession of a firearm. The court held that his prior Arkansas aggravated-assault conviction under Arkansas Code Annotated § 5-13-204(a)(3), involving suffocation or strangulation, qualified as a crime of violence under the Guidelines. The court also rejected his substantive-reasonableness challenge and declined to address ineffective-assistance claims on direct appeal, indicating that a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 was the proper vehicle.

Holdings

1. A conviction under Arkansas Code Annotated § 5-13-204(a)(3), which criminalizes purposely impeding or preventing another person's respiration or blood circulation by applying pressure to the throat or neck or blocking the nose or mouth, qualifies as a crime of violence under the Guidelines force clause.
2. The district court did not abuse its discretion in imposing the upward-variant statutory-maximum ten-year sentence.
3. The court declined to address Burnett's ineffective-assistance claims on direct appeal because the record was inadequate; a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 is the proper vehicle for developing and asserting those claims.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Burnett's prior Arkansas aggravated-assault conviction under Arkansas Code Annotated § 5-13-204(a)(3), involving impeding respiration or circulation by strangulation or suffocation, qualifies as a crime of violence under the Guidelines force clause.
2. Whether Burnett's upward-variant ten-year sentence was substantively unreasonable under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).
3. Whether the Eighth Circuit should address Burnett's pro se ineffective-assistance claims on direct appeal despite the undeveloped record.

Disposition

affirmed