Should the Definition of “Crime of Violence” Under Federal Law be Clarified? (H.R. 6691)
Do you support or oppose this bill?
What is H.R. 6691?
(Updated June 12, 2019)
This bill — the Community Safety and Security Act of 2018 — would more broadly define “crime of violence” under federal law by listing which offenses qualify as crimes of violence. That’d be in addition to the current definition that includes offenses that have “as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another.” The bill would address a 2017 Supreme Court ruling which found the definition of “crime of violence” unconstitutional because of its vagueness.
Additionally, this bill defines offenses that are considered crimes of violence, including:
Abusive sexual contact;
Aggravated sexual abuse;
Sexual abuse;
Assault;
Arson;
Burglary;
Carjacking;
Child abuse;
Communication of threats;
Coercion;
Domestic violence;
Extortion;
Firearms use;
Fleeing;
Force;
Hostage taking;
Human trafficking;
Interference with flight crew members and attendants;
Kidnapping;
Murder;
Robbery;
Stalking;
Unauthorized use of a motor vehicle;
Using weapons of mass destruction; and
Voluntary manslaughter.
Argument in favor
This bill wisely clarifies the definition of “crime of violence” in the federal criminal code to address the vagueness of the current definition, which was found to be unconstitutional.
Argument opposed
Congress shouldn’t clarify the definition of “crime of violence” to make it constitutionally valid, it should be done away with altogether and not used in federal prosecutions.
Impact
Defendants accused of “crimes of violence”; law enforcement; courts; and the federal criminal code.
Cost of H.R. 6691
A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.
Additional Info
In-Depth: Rep. Karen Handel (R-GA) introduced this bill to clarify the definition of “crime of violence” under federal law in response to a 2017 Supreme Court decision that found the definition to be vague and unconstitutional.
The case, , involved a lawful permanent resident named James Dimaya who was convicted of felony burglary in California. Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, non-citizens convicted of an aggravated felony that’s a “crime of violence” are subject to deportation.
Writing in his concurrence with the court’s four liberal justices that the current law was too vague, Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote:
“Just as Blackstone’s legislature passed a revised statute clarifying that “cattle” covers bulls and oxen, Congress remains free at any time to add more crimes to its list. It remains free, as well, to write a new residual clause that affords the fair notice lacking here. Congress might, for example, say that a conviction for any felony carrying a prison sentence of a specified length opens an alien to removal. Congress has done almost exactly this in other laws… What was done there could be done here.”
Media:
Summary by Eric Revell
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