U.S. v. Thomas

Federal 7th Circuit Court
Criminal Court
Sentencing
Citation
Case Number: 
Nos. 21-1239 & 21-1240 Cons.
Decision Date: 
March 1, 2022
Federal District: 
W.D. Wisc.
Holding: 
Affirmed

Dist. Ct. did not err in sentencing defendant to 130-month term of incarceration on drug distribution charge, after Dist. Ct. had found that defendant qualified as career offender under section 4B1.1(b) of USSG. While defendant argued that his prior Wisconsin conviction on charge of child abuse did not qualify as predicate crime of violence, Seventh Circuit precedent has consistently held that instant Wisconsin offense that required showing that defendant intentionally inflicted bodily harm on child was crime of violence. Moreover, Ct. of Appeals declined defendant’s invitation to reconsider its precedent in light of fact that other Circuits have found that similar offenses could not be considered violent felonies because they did not necessarily require proof of physical force.