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 name | Sykes v. United States |
| Docket no. | 09-11311 |
| Citations | 564 U.S. 1 (more) 131 S. Ct. 2267; 180 L. Ed. 2d 60 |
| Argument | Oral argument |
| Case history | |
| Prior | Sentence 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 | |
| |
| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Kennedy, joined by Roberts, Breyer, Alito, and Sotomayor |
| Concurrence | Thomas (in judgment) |
| Dissent | Scalia |
| Dissent | Kagan, joined by Ginsburg |
Overruled by | |
| Johnson v. United States (2015) | |
References
- Skyes v. United States Syllabus p. 1 "Held: Felony vehicle flight, as proscribed by Indiana law, is a violent felony for purposes of ACCA."
- 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."
- 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.'"
External links
- Text of Sykes v. United States, 564 U.S. 1 (2011) is available from: Cornell Justia Oyez (oral argument audio) Supreme Court (slip opinion) (archived)