Supreme Court Decision Syllabus (scotus)

Send us a textIn Delligatti v. United States, the Supreme Court held that New York attempted second-degree murder qualifies as a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. §924(c) because the knowing or intentional causation of death, whether by act or omission, necessarily involves the use of physical force under §924(c)(3)(A). Salvatore Delligatti was convicted under §924(c) after recruiting gang members to kill a suspected police informant and providing a loaded revolver for the crime. Before trial, he moved to dismiss the §924(c) charge, arguing that the predicate offense—attempted murder under the violent-crimes-in-aid-of-racketeering (VICAR) statute (§1959(a)(5))—was not a crime of violence. His argument relied on New York law, which allows second-degree murder to be committed by omission, such as failing to perform a legal duty, meaning it does not categorically require the use of physical force. The Second Circuit rejected his argument, concluding that attempted second-degree murder under New York law necessar