Summary
The Second Circuit held that Vermont's domestic assault statute, 13 V.S.A. § 1042, is divisible into three offenses and that Grace Ross's conviction involved willfully or recklessly causing bodily injury to a household member. Applying Supreme Court precedent, the court concluded that this offense requires the use of physical force and therefore qualifies as a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(33)(A), affirming Ross's conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9).
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether 13 V.S.A. § 1042 is divisible into multiple offenses for purposes of the modified categorical approach.
- Which offense under 13 V.S.A. § 1042 underlies Ross's 2003 conviction.
- Whether the offense of willfully or recklessly causing bodily injury to a family or household member requires proof of the use or attempted use of physical force under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(33)(A)(ii), thereby qualifying as a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence under § 922(g)(9).
Holdings
- 13 V.S.A. § 1042 is divisible into three separate offenses: attempting to cause bodily injury to a household member; willfully or recklessly causing bodily injury to a household member; and willfully causing a household member to fear imminent serious bodily injury.
- Ross was convicted of willfully or recklessly causing bodily injury to a family or household member.
- The offense of willfully or recklessly causing bodily injury to a family or household member necessarily requires proof of the use or attempted use of physical force and therefore qualifies as a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(33)(A)(ii).
Key quotations
“For all these reasons, we conclude that 13 V.S.A. § 1042 is divisible into three offenses: (1) attempting to cause bodily injury to a household member; (2) willfully or recklessly causing bodily injury to a household member; and (3) willfully causing a household member to fear imminent serious bodily injury.” (at 13)
“Under those decisions, Ross’s conviction for “willfully or recklessly caus[ing] bodily injury” necessarily required proving, as an element, “the use or attempted use of physical force” under 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(33)(A)(ii).” (at 16)
Factual background
In 2003, Ross pleaded guilty in Vermont state court to domestic assault under 13 V.S.A. § 1042 for assaulting her boyfriend. In 2021, Burlington police recovered a 9mm pistol from Ross's car during a traffic stop. Federal prosecutors charged her under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(9), and the case turned on whether her prior Vermont conviction required proof of the use or attempted use of physical force.
Procedural history
Ross was charged federally after police recovered a firearm from her vehicle in 2021. The district court denied her motion to dismiss, she entered a conditional guilty plea reserving the issue raised on appeal, and she was sentenced to time served and one year of supervised release. The Second Circuit affirmed the judgment of conviction.