Witness Retaliation Isn’t Always ‘Crime of Violence’

A conviction for retaliation against a witness does not qualify categorically as a “crime of violence” for purposes of the career-offender provision of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held Jan. 31. (United States v. Stoker, 5th Cir., No. 11-60754)

After the defendant in this case was convicted of arson, he mailed a witness an FBI investigative report detailing the defendant’s actions and describing the extreme fear the witness felt in coming forward. The witness interpreted the mailing as a threat, and the defendant was subsequently convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. ...