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Despite Chambers, Kansas Offense of Fleeing Cops a Crime of Violence Under USSG § 4B1.2

By Shari Allison

US v. McConnell, No. 09-3036, 5/19/10 - Fleeing or eluding cops, in violation of Kan. Stat. Ann. § 8-1568, is a crime of violence under USSG § 4B1.2. The Tenth had already held as much in regard to a similar Utah statute in US v. West, 550 F3d. 952 (2008), but the defendant claimed that the Supreme Court?s decision in Chambers v. US, 129 S.Ct. 687, overruled it. The Tenth Circuit rejects the argument, saying violation of the statute involves active conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another because it applies to disobedient drivers who pose the threat of direct confrontation with the police, who directly observe the conduct, that endangers the cops, the vehicle?s passengers and bystanders.

Full post as published by Tenth Circuit Blog on May 21, 2010 (boomark / email).