Leocal v. Ashcroft

Background

Josué Leocal, a Haitian who was a lawful permanent resident, pleaded guilty to two counts of driving under the influence that caused serious bodily injury in Florida. An immigration judge and the Board of Immigration Appeals treated that conviction as a "crime of violence" and therefore an aggravated felony, which led to an order of deportation and his removal to Haiti. The Eleventh Circuit had agreed that the Florida DUI statute qualified as a crime of violence, but other appeals courts had reached different conclusions, so the Supreme Court took the case to resolve the conflict.

Reasoning

The Court asked whether state DUI offenses that require no intent or only negligence can qualify as a "crime of violence" under the federal definition in 18 U.S.C. §16. The Court explained that §16(a) focuses on the active "use" of physical force and that ordinary negligent or accidental conduct does not naturally fit that language. Section 16(b) likewise requires a substantial risk that the offender will have to use physical force in the course of committing the crime, a standard the Court said is higher than simple negligence. The Court also noted that Congress elsewhere listed DUI-causing-injury separately, which suggests DUI was not meant to be treated as a crime of violence. Applying these interpretations, the Court reversed the Eleventh Circuit and held that Leocal’s Florida DUI conviction is not a crime of violence under §16.

Real world impact

The decision means many noncitizens with similar DUI-causing-injury convictions cannot automatically be classified as having committed an aggravated felony for deportation under §16. Courts must look to the legal elements of the conviction, not just the accident facts, and the ruling leaves open whether crimes requiring reckless or intentional use of force qualify as violent offenses. The case was sent back for further proceedings consistent with the Court’s interpretation.