United States v. Gieswein

Shawn Gieswein appealed his sentence pursuant to convictions for witness tampering and possession of a firearm as a felon. The Tenth Circuit agreed with Gieswein that the district court erred in applying a circumstance-specific approach to determine that his prior conviction for lewd molestation in Oklahoma state court qualified as a “forcible sex offense” and thus a “crime of violence” under the Sentencing Guidelines. “Recent changes to the Guidelines have not abrogated our prior decisions holding that the categorical approach applies in determining whether a conviction qualifies as a ‘forcible sex offense.’” Because the Oklahoma statute included conduct that would not qualify, Gieswein’s conviction should not have been treated as a crime of violence. Although an erroneously calculated Guidelines range generally requires resentencing, the Court found this was the rare case in which the error was harmless. View "United States v. Gieswein" on Justia Law