US SUPREME COURT DECISIONS

“Congress thought that certain general categories of property crimes—namely burglary, arson, extortion, and the use of explosives—so often presented a risk of injury to persons, or were so often committed by career criminals, that they should be included in the enhancement statute even though, considered solely in terms of their statutory elements, they do not necessarily involve the use or threat of force against a person.” 495 U. S., at 597.

See also id., at 588 (noting that Congress singled out burglary because it “often creates the possibility of a violent confrontation”); United States v. Adams, 51 Fed. Appx. 507, 508 (CA6 2002) (arson presents “a serious risk of physical injury to another” because “[n]ot only might the targeted building be occupied,” but also “the fire could harm firefighters and onlookers and could spread to occupied structures”); H. R. Rep. No. 99–849, p. 3 (1986) (purpose of clause (ii) was to “add State and Federal crimes against property such as burglary, arson, extortion, use of explosives and similar crimes as predicate offenses where the conduct involved presents a serious risk of injury to a person”).

Congress’ inclusion of a broad residual provision in clause (ii) indicates that it did not intend the preceding enumerated offenses to be an exhaustive list of the types of crimes that might present a serious risk of injury to others and therefore merit status as a §924(e) predicate offense. Nothing in the statutory language supports the view that Congress intended to limit this category solely to completed offenses.

C

James also relies on ACCA’s legislative history to buttress his argument that clause (ii) categorically excludes attempt offenses. In the deliberations leading up to ACCA’s adoption in 1984, the House rejected a version of the statute that would have provided enhanced penalties for use of a firearm by persons with two prior convictions for “any robbery or burglary offense, or a conspiracy or attempt to commit such an offense.” S. 52, 98th Cong., 2d Sess., §2 (1984) (emphasis added). The bill that ultimately became law omitted any reference to attempts, and simply defined “violent felony” to include “robbery or burglary, or both.” Armed Career Criminal Act of 1984, §1802, 98 Stat. 2185, repealed in 1986 by Pub. L. 99–308, §104(b), 100 Stat. 459. James argues that Congress’ rejection of this explicit “attempt” language in 1984 evidenced an intent to exclude attempted burglary as a predicate offense.

Whatever weight this legislative history might ordinarily have, we do not find it probative here, because the 1984 enactment on which James relies was not Congress’ last word on the subject. In 1986, Congress amended ACCA for the purpose of “ ‘expanding’ the range of predicate offenses.” Taylor, supra, at 584. The 1986 amendments added the more expansive language that is at issue in this case—including clause (ii)’s language defining as violent felonies offenses that are “burglary, arson, extortion, involv[e] use of explosives, or otherwise involv[e] conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.” Career Criminals Amendment Act of 1986, §1402(b), 100 Stat. 3207–40, codified at 18 U. S. C. §924(e)(2)(B)(ii). This language is substantially broader than the 1984 provision that it amended. Because both the Government and the Court of Appeals relied on the broader language of the 1986 amendments—specifically, the residual provision—as the textual basis for including attempted burglary within the law’s scope, Congress’ rejection of express language including attempt offenses in the 1984 provision is not dispositive. Congress did not consider, much less reject, any such language when it enacted the 1986 amendments. What it did consider, and ultimately adopted, was a broadly worded residual clause that does not by its terms exclude attempt offenses, and whose reach is broad enough to encompass at least some such offenses.

III

Having concluded that neither the statutory text nor the legislative history discloses any congressional intent to categorically exclude attempt offenses from the scope of §924(e)(2)(B)(ii)’s residual provision, we next ask whether attempted burglary, as defined by Florida law, is an offense that “involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.” In answering this question, we employ the “ ‘categorical approach’ ” that this Court has taken with respect to other offenses under ACCA. Under this approach, we “ ‘look only to the fact of conviction and the statutory definition of the prior offense,’ ” and do not generally consider the “particular facts disclosed by the record of conviction.” Shepard v. United States, 544 U. S. 13, 17 (2005) (quoting Taylor, 495 U. S., at 602). That is, we consider whether the elements of the offense are of the type that would justify its inclusion within the residual provision, without inquiring into the specific conduct of this particular offender.

A

We begin by examining what constitutes attempted burglary under Florida law. On its face, Florida’s attempt statute requires only that a defendant take “any act toward the commission” of burglary. Fla. Stat. §777.04(1). James contends that this broad statutory language sweeps in merely preparatory activity that poses no real danger of harm to others—for example, acquiring burglars’ tools or casing a structure while planning a burglary.

But while the statutory language is broad, the Florida Supreme Court has considerably narrowed its application in the context of attempted burglary, requiring an “overt act directed toward entering or remaining in a structure or conveyance.” Jones v. State, 608 So. 2d 797, 799 (1992). Mere preparation is not enough. See ibid. [Footnote 2] Florida’s lower courts appear to have consistently applied this heightened standard. See, e.g., Richardson v. State, 922 So. 2d 331, 334 (App. 2006); Davis v. State, 741 So. 2d 1213, 1214 (App. 1999).

The pivotal question, then, is whether overt conduct directed toward unlawfully entering or remaining in a dwelling, with the intent to commit a felony therein, is “conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.” 18 U. S. C. §924(e)(2)(B)(ii).

B

In answering this question, we look to the statutory language for guidance. The specific offenses enumerated in clause (ii) provide one baseline from which to measure whether other similar conduct “otherwise … presents a serious potential risk of physical injury.” In this case, we can ask whether the risk posed by attempted burglary is comparable to that posed by its closest analog among the enumerated offenses—here, completed burglary. See Taylor, supra, at 600, n. 9 (“The Government remains free to argue that any offense—including offenses similar to generic burglary—should count towards enhancement as one that ‘otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another’ under §924(e)(2)(B)(ii)”).

The main risk of burglary arises not from the simple physical act of wrongfully entering onto another’s property, but rather from the possibility of a face-to-face confrontation between the burglar and a third party—whether an occupant, a police officer, or a bystander—who comes to investigate. That is, the risk arises not from the completion of the burglary, but from the possibility that an innocent person might appear while the crime is in progress.

Attempted burglary poses the same kind of risk. Interrupting an intruder at the doorstep while the would-be burglar is attempting a break-in creates a risk of violent confrontation comparable to that posed by finding him inside the structure itself. As one court has explained:

“In all of these cases the risk of injury arises, not from the completion of the break-in, but rather from the possibility that some innocent party may appear on the scene while the break-in is occurring. This is just as likely to happen before the defendant succeeds in breaking in as after. Indeed, the possibility may be at its peak while the defendant is still outside trying to break in, as that is when he is likely to be making noise and exposed to the public view… . [T]here is a serious risk of confrontation while a perpetrator is attempting to enter the building.” United States v. Payne, 966 F. 2d 4, 8 (CA1 1992).

Indeed, the risk posed by an attempted burglary that can serve as the basis for an ACCA enhancement may be even greater than that posed by a typical completed burglary. All burglaries begin as attempted burglaries. But ACCA only concerns that subset of attempted burglaries where the offender has been apprehended, prosecuted, and convicted. This will typically occur when the attempt is thwarted by some outside intervenor—be it a property owner or law enforcement officer. Many completed burglaries do not involve such confrontations. But attempted burglaries often do; indeed, it is often just such outside intervention that prevents the attempt from ripening into completion.

Concluding that attempted burglary presents a risk that is comparable to the risk posed by the completed offense, every Court of Appeals that has construed an attempted burglary law similar in scope to Florida’s has held that the offense qualifies as a “violent felony” under clause (ii)’s residual provision. [Footnote 3] The only cases holding to the contrary involved attempt laws that could be satisfied by preparatory conduct that does not pose the same risk of violent confrontation and physical harm posed by an attempt to enter a structure illegally. [Footnote 4] Given that Florida law, as interpreted by that State’s highest court, requires an overt act directed toward the entry of a structure, we need not consider whether the more attenuated conduct encompassed by such laws presents a potential risk of serious injury under ACCA.

The United States Sentencing Commission has come to a similar conclusion with regard to the Sentencing Guidelines’ career offender enhancement, whose definition of a predicate “crime of violence” closely tracks ACCA’s definition of “violent felony.” See United States Sentencing Commission, Guidelines Manual §4B1.2(a)(2) (Nov. 2006) (USSG). The Commission has determined that “crime[s] of violence” for the purpose of the Guidelines enhancement “include the offenses of aiding and abetting, conspiring, and attempting to commit such offenses.” §4B1.2, comment., n. 1. This judgment was based on the Commission’s review of empirical sentencing data and presumably reflects an assessment that attempt crimes often pose a similar risk of injury as completed offenses. As then-Judge Breyer explained, “[t]he Commission, which collects detailed sentencing data on virtually every federal criminal case, is better able than any individual court to make an informed judgment about the relation between” a particular offense and “the likelihood of accompanying violence.” United States v. Doe, 960 F. 2d 221, 225 (CA1 1992); see also USSG §1A3 (Nov. 1987), reprinted in §1A1.1 comment. (Nov. 2006) (describing empirical basis of Commission’s formulation of Guidelines); United States v. Chambers, 473 F. 3d 724 (CA7 2007) (noting the usefulness of empirical analysis from the Commission in determining whether an unenumerated crime poses a risk of violence). While we are not bound by the Sentencing Commission’s conclusion, we view it as further evidence that a crime like attempted burglary poses a risk of violence similar to that presented by the completed offense.

C

James responds that it is not enough that attempted burglary “ ‘generally’ ” or in “ ‘most cases’ ” will create a risk of physical injury to others. Brief for Petitioner 32. Citing the categorical approach we employed in Taylor, he argues that we cannot treat attempted burglary as an ACCA predicate offense unless all cases present such a risk. James’ approach is supported by neither the statute’s text nor this Court’s holding in Taylor.

One could, of course, imagine a situation in which attempted burglary might not pose a realistic risk of confrontation or injury to anyone—for example, a break-in of an unoccupied structure located far off the beaten path and away from any potential intervenors. But ACCA does not require metaphysical certainty. Rather, §924(e)(2)(B)(ii)’s residual provision speaks in terms of a “potential risk.” These are inherently probabilistic concepts. [Footnote 5] Indeed, the combination of the two terms suggests that Congress intended to encompass possibilities even more contingent or remote than a simple “risk,” much less a certainty. While there may be some attempted burglaries that do not present a serious potential risk of physical injury to another, the same is true of completed burglaries—which are explicitly covered by the statutory language and provide a baseline against which to measure the degree of risk that a non-enumerated offense must “otherwise” present in order to qualify.

James’ argument also misapprehends Taylor’s categorical approach. We do not view that approach as requiring that every conceivable factual offense covered by a statute must necessarily present a serious potential risk of injury before the offense can be deemed a violent felony. Cf. Gonzales v. Duenas-Alvarez, 549 U. S. ___, ___ (2007) (slip op., at 9) (“[T]o find that a state statute creates a crime outside the generic definition of a listed crime in a federal statute requires more than the application of legal imagination to a state statute’s language. It requires a realistic probability, not a theoretical possibility, that the State would apply its statute to conduct that falls outside the generic definition of a crime”).

Rather, the proper inquiry is whether the conduct encompassed by the elements of the offense, in the ordinary case, presents a serious potential risk of injury to another. One can always hypothesize unusual cases in which even a prototypically violent crime might not present a genuine risk of injury—for example, an attempted murder where the gun, unbeknownst to the shooter, had no bullets, see United States v. Thomas, 361 F. 3d 653, 659 (CADC 2004). Or, to take an example from the offenses specifically enumerated in §924(e)(2)(B)(ii), one could imagine an extortion scheme where an anonymous blackmailer threatens to release embarrassing personal information about the victim unless he is mailed regular payments. In both cases, the risk of physical injury to another approaches zero. But that does not mean that the offenses of attempted murder or extortion are categorically nonviolent.

As long as an offense is of a type that, by its nature, presents a serious potential risk of injury to another, it satisfies the requirements of §924(e)(2)(B)(ii)’s residual provision. Attempted burglary under Florida law—as construed in Jones to require an overt act directed toward entry of a structure—satisfies this test.

D

Justice Scalia’s dissent criticizes our approach on the ground that it does not provide sufficient guidance for lower courts required to decide whether unenumerated offenses other than attempted burglary qualify as violent felonies under ACCA. But the dissent’s alternative approach has more serious disadvantages. Among other things, that approach unnecessarily decides an important question that the parties have not briefed (the meaning of the term “extortion” in §924(e)(2)(B)(ii)), decides that question in a way that is hardly free from doubt, and fails to provide an interpretation of the residual provision that furnishes clear guidance for future cases.

The dissent interprets the residual provision to require at least as much risk as the least dangerous enumerated offense. But the ordinary meaning of the language of the residual clause does not impose such a requirement. What the clause demands is “a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.” While it may be reasonable to infer that the risks presented by the enumerated offenses involve a risk of this magnitude, it does not follow that an offense that presents a lesser risk necessarily fails to qualify. Nothing in the language of §924(e)(2)(B)(ii) rules out the possibility that an offense may present “a serious risk of physical injury to another” without presenting as great a risk as any of the enumerated offenses.

Moreover, even if an unenumerated offense could not qualify without presenting at least as much risk as the least risky of the enumerated offenses, it would not be necessary to identify the least risky of those offenses in order to decide this case. Rather, it would be sufficient to establish simply that the unenumerated offense presented at least as much risk as one of the enumerated offenses. Thus, Justice Scalia’s interpretation of the meaning of the term “extortion” is unnecessary—and inadvisable. The parties have not briefed this issue, and the proposed interpretation is hardly beyond question. Instead of interpreting the meaning of the term “extortion” in accordance with its meaning at common law or in modern federal and state statutes, see Taylor, 495 U. S., at 598, it is suggested that we adopt an interpretation that seems to be entirely novel and that greatly reduces the reach of ACCA.

The stated reason for tackling this question is to provide guidance for the lower courts in future cases—surely a worthy objective. But in practical terms, the proposed interpretation of the residual clause would not make it much easier for the lower courts to decide whether other unenumerated offenses qualify. Without hard statistics—and no such statistics have been called to our attention—how is a lower court to determine whether the risk posed by generic burglary is greater or less than the risk posed by an entirely unrelated unenumerated offense—say, escape from prison? [Footnote 6].

In the end, Justice Scalia’s analysis of this case turns on the same question as ours—i.e., the comparative risks presented by burglary and attempted burglary. The risk of physical injury in both cases occurs when there is a confrontation between the criminal and another person, whether an occupant of the structure, a law enforcement officer or security guard, or someone else. It is argued that when such an encounter occurs during a consummated burglary (i.e., after entry), the risk is greater than it is when the encounter occurs during an attempted burglary (i.e., before entry is effected), and that may be true. But this argument fails to come to grips with the fact that such encounters may occur much more frequently during attempted burglaries because it is precisely due to such encounters that many planned burglaries do not progress beyond the attempt stage. Justice Scalia dismisses the danger involved when an encounter occur during attempted burglaries, stating that such encounters are “likely to consist of nothing more than the occupant’s yelling, ‘Who’s there?’ from his window, and the burglar’s running away.” Post, at 13. But there are many other possible scenarios. An armed would-be burglar may be spotted by a police officer, a private security guard, or a participant in a neighborhood watch program. Or a homeowner angered by the sort of conduct recited in James’ presentence report—throwing a hammer through a window—may give chase, and a violent encounter may ensue. For these reasons and the reasons discussed above, we are convinced that the offense of attempted burglary, as defined by Florida law, qualifies under ACCA’s residual clause.