Hobbs Act Robbery Isn’t a Sentence-Bumping Crime of Violence

A criminal defendant who pleaded guilty to Hobbs Act robbery convinced the Fourth Circuit that his sentence should be recalculated because of an erroneous enhancement for career criminals, which should only apply to crimes of violence.

Under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, a crime of violence is one where the defendant used or threatened to use “physical force against the person of another.” Robbery is also specifically listed as a crime of violence.

Richard Green said Hobbs Act robbery isn’t such a crime because it includes the use or threatened use of force against a “person or property.”

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