Summary
This Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals opinion affirms the district court's sentence of a defendant convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The court addressed whether the district court properly applied a sentencing guideline cross-reference to attempted murder despite the defendant's claim of voluntary intoxication and lack of specific intent. Applying plain error review to the unpreserved intoxication argument and clear error review to the factual findings, the court held that South Carolina law does not recognize voluntary intoxication as a defense to specific intent crimes and found substantial evidence supporting the attempted murder enhancement. Consequently, the court affirmed the judgment.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the district court erred in applying the attempted‑murder cross‑reference despite Ellis’s claim of voluntary intoxication.
- Whether the district court’s finding that Ellis attempted murder was supported by substantial evidence.
Holdings
- The district court correctly applied the attempted‑murder cross‑reference; voluntary intoxication is not a defense to attempted murder under South Carolina law.
- The district court’s finding was supported by substantial evidence; the appellate court affirms.
Key quotations
“It is reasonable to conclude that when a person loads a live round into the firing chamber of a 9 millimeter pistol and points the pistol at another human being at close range and pulls the trigger, that person intends to shoot and intends to kill the person on the other end of the gun.” (at 7)
“The district court correctly applied the attempted murder cross‑reference and the district court’s factual findings were supported by substantial evidence.” (at 12)
Factual background
Ellis, while intoxicated, pulled a gun on Lamar Gross, the son of his estranged fiancé, and shot him in the abdomen. Ellis claimed the shooting was accidental; Gross testified that Ellis pointed the gun at him and fired. Ellis was previously convicted of a felony, making possession of the firearm unlawful.
Procedural history
Ellis pleaded guilty to a federal firearms possession charge and was sentenced after the district court applied the attempted murder cross‑reference under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. He appealed, arguing that voluntary intoxication barred the cross‑reference and that the evidence did not support an attempted‑murder finding.