In the Supreme Court of the United States In the Supreme Court of ...

Subcommittee on Crime of the House Committee on the Judiciary, 99th Cong., 2d Sess., 40
(1986) (House Hearing) (noting Congressman Smith’s suggestion to limit extortion because
blackmail and the threat of slander present virtually no risk of physical violence). Conversely,
the physical design of a sawed-off shotgun demonstrates the degree of risk it poses. United
States v. Upton, 512 F.3d 394, 404 (7th Cir. 2008) (“[T]he shortened barrel . . . increases the
spread of the shot when fired at close range—[a fact] that spurred Congress to require
registration.”). The Eighth Circuit held that it was capable of producing “indiscriminate
carnage” similar to an explosive. Vincent, 575 F.3d at 826. The possession of a sawed-off
shotgun, therefore, produces at least a similar degree of risk as the enumerated offenses.
3. Possession of an unregistered sawed-off shotgun is similar to the enumerated
offenses in the kind of risk posed because it serves no lawful purpose.
To qualify as a violent felony, an offense does not need to be violent per se; rather, it
must “involve conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury.” § 924
(e)(2)(B)(ii). The enumerated offenses present a risk of harm only when the Court considers
other common variables. See James, 550 U.S. at 203. For example, neither burglary nor
attempted burglary requires a demonstration of violence; however, both burglary and attempted
burglary involve the risk of confrontation that can result in violence. Id. The risk of violence,
therefore, depends upon whether there is an encounter. Id. at 204. Likewise, arson does not
require a showing of violence; rather, it is the presence of others nearby that creates the risk. Id.
at 200 (“[T]he fire could harm firefighters and onlookers.”).
In Sykes, this Court reasoned that vehicle flights meet the requisite kind of risk because
officers are always present during the encounter and the fleeing felon can use the vehicle to
cause physical injury to the officer. Sykes, 131 S. Ct. at 2274. Similarly, officers who encounter
individuals with unregistered weapons face the risk that the offender will use the weapon to
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