Dejuan Andre Worthen v. United States

The elements clause provides that felonies that have as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of force are categorically a crime of violence under the elements clause’s enhancement penalty pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). In United States v. Taylor, 142 S. Ct. 2015 (2022), this Court held that attempted Hobbs Act robbery was not a crime of violence under the elements clause because the offense did not require the defendant, himself, to commit a violent act. The Taylor decision also held that none of the elements of attempted Hobbs Act robbery required the use, attempted use, or threatened use of force. In this case, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that the Petitioner’s aiding-and-abetting Hobbs Act robbery conviction was a crime of violence under the elements clause, even though the Petitioner did not, himself, engage in a violent act and even though none of the elements of an aiding and abetting offense requires the use, attempted use, or threatened use of force. The question presented is: Whether aiding and abetting a Hobbs Act robbery is a crime of violence under the elements clause.