903 F.3d 887

TALLMAN, Circuit Judge, concurring:
Although I join the majority opinion because it correctly analyzes the current state of the law, I write separately to call attention yet again to the continuing frustrations caused by the inconsistent and arbitrary treatment of "crime[s] of violence." 18 U.S.C. § 16. Caused by vagaries in state law and the Supreme Court's ever-evolving jurisprudence on the topic, "[t]he bedeviling 'modified categorical approach' ... continue[s] to spit out intra- and inter-circuit splits and confusion." Almanza-Arenas v. Lynch , 815 F.3d 469, 483 (9th Cir. 2016) (en banc) (Owens, J., concurring). It is time that Congress steps in to create a more reasonable, consistent, and functional standard for removing violent criminals from our country. See Descamps v. United States , 570 U.S. 254, 279, 133 S.Ct. 2276, 186 L.Ed.2d 438 (2013) ("If Congress wishes to pursue its policy in a proper and efficient way without mandating uniformity among the States with respect to their criminal statutes for scores of serious offenses, and without requiring the amendment of any number of federal criminal statutes as well, Congress should act at once.") (Kennedy, J., concurring).

Passage view · GavelSight