The modified categorical approach is categorically modified in the 9th Circuit

Sunday, August 14th, 2011

On August 11, 2011, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals published another en banc blockbuster, U.S. v. Aguila-Montes de Oca authored by Judge Jay Bybee. The case addresses the modified categorical approach of statutory analysis. The use of the approach arises when a court needs to figure out if a state criminal conviction fits a federal definition of say, a crime of violence or a burglary or a crime of domestic violence or sexual abuse of a minor or a…