United States v. Mason

ORDER AND JUDGMENT *

Terrence L. O’Brien, United States Circuit Judge

Does textualism 1 prevail even if the results are unsettling? In litigation, facts are critical; or are they? Those questions bear on the issue presented here: Whether assault and battery upon a police officer in violation of Okla. Stat. Ann. tit. 21, § 649(B) qualifies as a “violent felony” under the elements clause of the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA), 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)®. As it turns out, the details (case facts) of a prior conviction matter not a whit, no matter how clear they may be. Because assault and battery…