SCOTUS to address state robbery issue

In United States v. Garcia, 877 F.3d 944 (10th Cir. 2017), a Tenth Circuit panel held that a conviction for New Mexico robbery is a violent felony under the ACCA’s force clause. Garcia was incorrectly decided because it mistakenly concluded that New Mexico robbery always involves strong, violent physical force. New Mexico law demonstrates that robbery requires only the use of enough force to overcome the resistance of attachment and does not require any particular amount of resistance.

Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court in Stokeling v. United States, Supreme Court Case No. 17-5554 (Apr. 2, 2018), granted certiorari to address this question: “Whether a state robbery offense that includes ‘as an element’ the common law requirement of overcoming ‘victim resistance’ is categorically a ‘violent felony’ under the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. §924(e)(2)(B)(i), when the offense has been specifically interpreted by state appellate courts to require only slight force to overcome resistance.” Arguably, Garcia would be abrogated by a decision that comes out in favor of the defense. Therefore, it appears to be an issue worth preserving.