Sykes v. United States

Sykes v. United States, 564 U.S. 1 (2011), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that felony vehicle flight, as proscribed by Indiana law, is a violent felony for purposes of the residual clause of the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA).[1] Writing for the majority, Justice Kennedy wrote that vehicle flight requires officers to give chase, resulting in more injuries on average than burglary.[2] Dissenting, Justice Scalia criticized the majority for producing an ad hoc judgment based on vague legislation, suggesting they should declare the residual clause of the law unconstitutionally vague.[3] The court would follow that advice several years later in Johnson v. United States and declare the residual clause unconstitutionally vague.

Sykes v. United States
Argued January 12, 2011
Decided June 9, 2011
Full case nameSykes v. United States
Docket no.09-11311
Citations564 U.S. 1 (more)
131 S. Ct. 2267; 180 L. Ed. 2d 60
ArgumentOral argument
Case history
PriorSentence enhancement affirmed, 598 F.3d 334 (7th Cir. 2010); cert. granted, 561 U.S. 1058 (2010).
Holding
Felony vehicle flight, as proscribed by Indiana law, is a violent felony for purposes of the Armed Career Criminal Act.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy
Clarence Thomas · Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Stephen Breyer · Samuel Alito
Sonia Sotomayor · Elena Kagan
Case opinions
MajorityKennedy, joined by Roberts, Breyer, Alito, and Sotomayor
ConcurrenceThomas
DissentScalia
DissentKagan, joined by Ginsburg
Overruled by
Johnson v. United States (2015)

See also

References
  1. Skyes v. United States Syllabus p. 1 "Held: Felony vehicle flight, as proscribed by Indiana law, is a violent felony for purposes of ACCA."
  2. Liptak, Adam Justices Say Fleeing Police by Car Is a Violent Felony New York Times "As a matter of both common experience and statistics, Justice Kennedy wrote, the answer was yes. Fleeing from the police in a car, he wrote, 'is a provocative and dangerous act that dares, and in a typical case requires, the officer to give chase.' As a statistical matter, he wrote, four police officers or bystanders are injured for every 100 pursuits. By contrast, he said, there are 3.2 injuries for every 100 burglaries."
  3. Liptak, Adam Justices Say Fleeing Police by Car Is a Violent Felony New York Times "Justice Antonin Scalia, writing only for himself, issued a vigorous dissent. He said the provision of the federal law under review ('involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another') was a hopelessly vague Congressional 'drafting failure' and that 'today’s tutti-frutti opinion' produces 'a fourth ad hoc judgment that will sow further confusion.'"
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