Justices Take Broad View of ‘Crime of Violence’ in Mob Case

The US Supreme Court rejected a narrow interpretation of a firearms sentencing enhancement after years of rulings that limited what crimes can be considered violent.

In a 7-2 ruling by Justice Clarence Thomas on Friday, the court said an attempted murder-for-hire was a crime of violence eligible for a five-year mandatory minimum sentence.

Defendant Salvatore Delligatti’s counter argument, which Justice Elena Kagan called “absurd” during arguments Nov. 12, depends on the so-called categorical approach, which courts use to determine if certain crimes are considered violent. Under that approach, courts don’t look at the defendant’s actual conduct, but the least culpable conduct that’s chargeable under the statute.

Delligatti, a former Genovese crime family associate, argued that even though his crime—the attempted assassination of a New York man who posed a potential threat to the family’s illegal sports gambling operation—involved violence, not all attempted murders do.

The Supreme Court’s rejection of that argument follows several rulings in which the court invalidated catch-all clauses that defined “crime of violence” broadly.

The case is Delligatti v. United States, U.S., No. 23-825.