United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 2019-08-12
18usc924: author: Flash3 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md)
Case and law context
Role: applied; posture: consolidated criminal appeals after separate jury trials; challenge to the § 924(c) predicates raised for the first time on appeal (plain-error review) after United States v. Davis; § 924(c) convictions reversed, sentences vacated, remanded for full resentencing; result: claimant-lost; claim: (c)(3)
Uncertainty
None recorded
Misfit
None recorded
B · Case × element grid
Top-level elements follow claim order in panels of up to six elements. Case rows repeat across panels. Every recorded block retains its holding and basis; multiple blocks are not merged into a case-level verdict. ✓ satisfied · ✗ not satisfied · ○ not reached · · not addressed. Muted blocks are not counted. Sub-element evidence remains on case and element pages.
Elements 1–6 of 13
| Case | Qualifying federal predicate offense | Firearm object | Active employment of a firearm | Knowingly possess and convey the firearm | During and in relation to the predicate | Knowing actual or constructive possession |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States v. Brazier — 933 F.3d 796 (2019) · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 2019 (18usc924: author: Flash3 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md)) | · not addressed | · not addressed | · not addressed | · not addressed | · not addressed | · not addressed |
Elements 7–12 of 13
| Case | Possession advances the specific predicate | Armor-piercing ammunition object | Use or carry the armor-piercing ammunition | Possess the armor-piercing ammunition | Section 2 aiding and abetting route | Greater minimum for the same firearm conduct displaces the lower minimum |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States v. Brazier — 933 F.3d 796 (2019) · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 2019 (18usc924: author: Flash3 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md)) | · not addressed | · not addressed | · not addressed | · not addressed | · not addressed | · not addressed |
Elements 13–13 of 13
| Case | Sentencing consequences after offense proof |
|---|---|
| United States v. Brazier — 933 F.3d 796 (2019) · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 2019 (18usc924: author: Flash3 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md)) | · not addressed |
Instances and excluded annotation blocks
| Case | Element | Holding and scope | Pattern | Exact source quotations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States v. Brazier — 933 F.3d 796 (2019) · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 2019 — not · law (18usc924: author: Flash3 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md)) | Felony with the required force element | not Counted merits instance applied / merits basis: law; claim: (c)(3); party: Derek Fields and Lindani Mzembe (the two defendants convicted under § 924(c); co-appellant Ivan Brazier was not); count: 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(iii), using and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence (predicates: kidnapping, § 1201, and ransom demand, § 875(a)); subject: party=Derek Fields and Lindani Mzembe (the two defendants convicted under § 924(c); co-appellant Ivan Brazier was not); count=18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(iii), using and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence (predicates: kidnapping, § 1201, and ransom demand, § 875(a)) Decided as a question of law on plain-error review: the residual clause is void under Davis and, under circuit precedent (Jenkins), kidnapping and ransom lack a force element. The violent actual conduct is recorded as [neutral] because the court holds the categorical method does not consider it. The opinion notes that Jenkins itself was vacated and remanded by the Supreme Court on the residual-clause question, and states that this does not cast doubt on its elements-clause analysis. | federal kidnapping and holding for ransom can be committed by inveigling or decoying and by confinement without threat of force | The other way to satisfy § 924(c) is the elements clause, but we explained in United States v. Jenkins that kidnapping and holding a person for ransom does not categorically satisfy the elements clause.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_933.jsonl#/f3d/933/0796-01; Unicode character offsets [9650:9852] (end exclusive); SHA-256 3c380e31e40a1a143dbc7f2e33e8aba9ba905e4f30336bffe710c0f903f2a8f6.In United States v. Davis , 588 U.S. ----, 139 S. Ct. 2319, 204 L.Ed.2d 757 (2019), the Supreme Court resolved a circuit split and held that the residual clause in the § 924(c) definition of a crime of violence is unconstitutionally vague, so the defendants' convictions cannot be upheld on that basis.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_933.jsonl#/f3d/933/0796-01; Unicode character offsets [9347:9649] (end exclusive); SHA-256 3c380e31e40a1a143dbc7f2e33e8aba9ba905e4f30336bffe710c0f903f2a8f6.The categorical method focuses on the essential elements of the counts of conviction, requiring courts in essence to focus on the least culpable conduct that could violate the relevant statutes, without considering the actual facts of the defendants' conduct.Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_933.jsonl#/f3d/933/0796-01; Unicode character offsets [10448:10707] (end exclusive); SHA-256 3c380e31e40a1a143dbc7f2e33e8aba9ba905e4f30336bffe710c0f903f2a8f6.Under the categorical method of analysis that applies to both the elements and residual clauses of the definition of crimes of violence in 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), Mzembe's and Fields' convictions for kidnapping and demanding ransom cannot support the mandatory consecutive sentences imposed under § 924(c).Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_933.jsonl#/f3d/933/0796-01; Unicode character offsets [10145:10447] (end exclusive); SHA-256 3c380e31e40a1a143dbc7f2e33e8aba9ba905e4f30336bffe710c0f903f2a8f6. |
Court interpretations recorded from this case
interpretation
In United States v. Davis , 588 U.S. ----, 139 S. Ct. 2319, 204 L.Ed.2d 757 (2019), the Supreme Court resolved a circuit split and held that the residual clause in the § 924(c) definition of a crime of violence is unconstitutionally vague, so the defendants' convictions cannot be upheld on that basis.
United States v. Brazier — 933 F.3d 796 (2019) · United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit · 2019 (18usc924: author: Flash3 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md))
In United States v. Davis , 588 U.S. ----, 139 S. Ct. 2319, 204 L.Ed.2d 757 (2019), the Supreme Court resolved a circuit split and held that the residual clause in the § 924(c) definition of a crime of violence is unconstitutionally vague, so the defendants' convictions cannot be upheld on that basis.Source:
docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_933.jsonl#/f3d/933/0796-01; Unicode character offsets [9347:9649] (end exclusive); SHA-256 3c380e31e40a1a143dbc7f2e33e8aba9ba905e4f30336bffe710c0f903f2a8f6.Delligatti, 604 U.S. 423 (2025), reaffirms the categorical method and holds that deliberate injury or death can involve force even by omission of a legal duty. Taylor does not exclude every attempt offense; compare attempted murder. Davis invalidates (c)(3)(B). Taylor, 596 U.S. 845 (2022), requires the categorical elements inquiry and holds attempted Hobbs Act robbery does not qualify; actual violent facts cannot repair a missing statutory force element. These rulings do not erase the separate drug-trafficking alternative. Official opinions and local-IR availability are recorded in NOTES.