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Case: 16-6001 Document: 00117483386 Page: 1 Date Filed: 08/30/2019 Entry ID: 6278878

No. 16-6001

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS


FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
_________________________

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,


Appellee,

v.

DZHOKHAR A. TSARNAEV,
Defendant–Appellant.
_________________________

On Appeal from the United States District Court for the


District of Massachusetts, No. 1:13-CR-10200
(Hon. George A. O’Toole)
_________________________

SUPPLEMENTAL BRIEF FOR APPELLEE THE UNITED STATES


REGARDING UNITED STATES V. DAVIS
_________________________

ANDREW E. LELLING BRIAN A. BENCZKOWSKI


United States Attorney Assistant Attorney General

NADINE PELLEGRINI MATTHEW S. MINER


Assistant United States Attorney Deputy Assistant Attorney General
District of Massachusetts
WILLIAM A. GLASER
JOHN C. DEMERS Attorney, Appellate Section
Assistant Attorney General Criminal Division
National Security Division U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
JOSEPH F. PALMER Washington, DC 20530
Attorney (202) 532-4495
National Security Division William.Glaser@usdoj.gov
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................... i

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES ............................................................................................. iii

SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT ........................................................................................... 1

ARGUMENT ......................................................................................................................... 3

The Supreme Court’s Decision in United States v. Davis Does Not


Invalidate Tsarnaev’s Convictions on Counts 13, 15, 16, or 17, but It
Does Require Vacatur of Count 18 Under This Court’s Precedent. .................... 3

A. Background ........................................................................................... 4

B. Standard of review ............................................................................... 7

C. The capital offense of malicious destruction of property


resulting in death is a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C.
§ 924(c)(3)(A)...................................................................................... 10

1. A person cannot commit capital arson resulting in


death without using physical force against the person
of another. ............................................................................... 11

2. Capital arson resulting in death requires intentional


conduct. ................................................................................... 16

3. Tsarnaev’s contrary arguments are unpersuasive. .............. 19

D. The offenses of capital conspiracy to use a weapon of mass


destruction resulting in death and capital conspiracy to
bomb a place of public use resulting in death are crimes of
violence under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(A). ........................................ 22

E. Under this Court’s precedent, non-capital conspiracy to


commit arson resulting in death is not a crime of violence. ......... 25

F. Count 18’s invalidity does not affect the validity of


Tsarnaev’s remaining convictions. ................................................... 26

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CONCLUSION ................................................................................................................... 28

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE .............................................................................. 29

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE ......................................................................................... 30

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TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

Cases

Apprendi v. New Jersey,


530 U.S. 466 (2000) ........................................................................................................ 12

Bennett v. United States,


868 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2017), opinion withdrawn, 870 F.3d 34 (1st Cir. 2017) .......... 17, 26

Braverman v. United States,


317 U.S. 49 (1942) .......................................................................................................... 22

Burrage v. United States,


571 U.S. 204 (2014) ............................................................................................12, 14, 15

Carlisle v. United States,


517 U.S. 416 (1996) .......................................................................................................... 9

Gonzales v. Duenas-Alvarez,
549 U.S. 183 (2007) ........................................................................................................ 23

Iannelli v. United States,


420 U.S. 770 (1975) ........................................................................................................ 22

Johnson v. United States,


135 S. Ct. 2551 (2015) ...................................................................................................... 6

Johnson v. United States,


520 U.S. 461 (1997) .......................................................................................................... 9

Johnson v. United States,


559 U.S. 133 (2010) ............................................................................................11, 13, 18

Jones v. United States,


526 U.S. 227 (1999) ........................................................................................................ 15

Lassend v. United States,


898 F.3d 115 (1st Cir. 2018) ............................................................................................ 9

Leocal v. Ashcroft,
543 U.S. 1 (2004)............................................................................................................. 24

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Mathis v. United States,


136 S. Ct. 2243 (2016) ................................................................................. 11, 12, 14, 20

Moncrieffe v. Holder,
569 U.S. 184 (2013) ........................................................................................................ 23

Ring v. Arizona,
536 U.S. 584 (2002) ........................................................................................................ 12

Sessions v. Dimaya,
138 S. Ct. 1204 (2018) .................................................................................................... 22

Stokeling v. United States,


139 S. Ct. 544 (2019) ...................................................................................................... 11

Taylor v. United States,


495 U.S. 575 (1990) ........................................................................................................ 11

United States v. Baskerville,


491 F.Supp.2d 516 (D. N.J. 2007) ................................................................................ 18

United States v. Booker,


543 U.S. 220 (2005) ........................................................................................................ 10

United States v. Castleman,


572 U.S. 157 (2014) ............................................................................................11, 13, 15

United States v. Cruz-Rivera,


904 F.3d 63 (1st Cir. 2018) .............................................................................................. 8

United States v. Davis,


139 S. Ct. 2319 (2019) .............................................................................................. 1, 3, 4

United States v. Douglas,


907 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2018), vacated, 139 S. Ct. 2775 (2019) ......................................... 22

United States v. García-Ortiz,


904 F.3d 102 (1st Cir. 2018) ........................................................................................ 8, 9

United States v. Grady,


746 F.3d 846 (7th Cir. 2014) ......................................................................................... 16

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United States v. Hayes,


589 F.2d 811 (5th Cir. 1979) ......................................................................................... 15

United States v. Hill,


890 F.3d 51 (2d Cir. 2018) ............................................................................................. 23

United States v. Joyner,


313 F.3d 40 (2nd Cir. 2002)........................................................................................... 15

United States v. Marcus,


560 U.S. 258 (2010) .................................................................................................... 9, 10

United States v. Mayendía-Blanco,


905 F.3d 26 (1st Cir. 2018) ...................................................................................... 10, 27

United States v. Rose,


896 F.3d 104 (1st Cir. 2018) ..............................................................................17, 18, 26

United States v. Salas,


889 F.3d 681 (10th Cir. 2018) ....................................................................................... 16

United States v. Taylor,


848 F.3d 476 (1st Cir.).................................................................................................... 11

United States v. Tkhilaishvili,


926 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2019) ................................................................................................ 7

United States v. Vázquez-Rivera,


407 F.3d 476 (1st Cir. 2005) .......................................................................................... 10

United States v. Williams,


610 F.3d 271 (5th Cir. 2010) ......................................................................................... 18

United States v. Windley,


864 F.3d 36 (1st Cir. 2017) ...................................................................................... 17, 26

Voisine v. United States,


136 S. Ct. 2272 (2016) .................................................................................................... 18

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Statutes and Rules

18 U.S.C. § 844...............................................................................................................passim

18 U.S.C. § 921.................................................................................................................. 4, 18

18 U.S.C. § 924...............................................................................................................passim

18 U.S.C. § 1111 ..................................................................................................................... 4

18 U.S.C. § 2332a.............................................................................................................. 5, 24

18 U.S.C. § 2332f ........................................................................................................ 5, 24, 25

18 U.S.C. § 3591 ............................................................................................................passim

Fed. R. Crim. P. 12 ................................................................................................................. 8

Fed. R. Crim. P. 29 ................................................................................................................. 8

Fed. R. Crim. P. 30 ................................................................................................................. 8

Fed. R. Crim. P. 52 ................................................................................................................. 8

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SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT

The Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Davis, 139 S. Ct. 2319 (2019),

which invalidated the definition of a “crime of violence” in 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(B),

does not undermine Tsarnaev’s convictions under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) on Counts 13,

15, 16, or 17. Each of those challenged § 924(c) convictions is based on a predicate

offense under the alternative definition of a “crime of violence” in § 924(c)(3)(A),

which includes any federal felony that “has as an element the use, attempted use, or

threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another.” 18 U.S.C.

§ 924(c)(3)(A). Count 18, however, is no longer based on a valid predicate under this

circuit’s precedent and should be vacated.

1. The predicate offense of capital arson resulting in death (the offense charged

in Counts 12 and 14) has as an element the use of force against the person of another.

Where, as here, arson is charged as a capital offense, the jury must find as an element

at least one of the four “gateway” special intent factors enumerated in the Federal

Death Penalty Act (FDPA), 18 U.S.C. § 3591(a)(2). Each of those intent factors

requires proof that the defendant engaged in intentional conduct that directly resulted

in a victim’s death. The government cannot satisfy those factors without proving that

the defendant intentionally used force sufficient to kill the victim.

Moreover, the separate element that “death result[ ]” from the arson

independently requires proof that the victim was subjected to “physical force” within

the meaning of the elements clause. The “death results” element requires a causal
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connection between the defendant’s use of fire or explosives and the victim’s

death. Establishing that connection invariably requires proof that physical force was

used against another person.

2. Similarly, the predicate offenses of capital conspiracy to use a weapon of

mass destruction resulting in death (Count 1) and capital conspiracy to bomb a place

of public use resulting in death (Count 6) have as an element the use of physical force

against another person. These counts required proof of the gateway factors, each of

which requires the intentional use of force against the person of another. Each also

required proof that “death result[ed]” from the conspiracy. When a conspiracy has

actually resulted in death, the conspirators necessarily have moved beyond an inchoate

agreement and have engaged in an act that resulted in death. In any realistic scenario,

where a death results from a conspiracy to bomb a public place or to use a weapon of

mass destruction, the death must have resulted from the use of force.

3. The predicate offense underlying Count 18—conspiracy to commit arson

resulting in death (as charged in Count 11)—is not a § 924(c)(3)(A) crime of violence

under this Court’s precedent. This Court has held that reckless conduct, as opposed

to intentional conduct, cannot constitute the use of force against the person or

property of another. Because the jury did not find the gateway intent factors as to

Count 11 (because it was not a capital count), the jury did not find that Count 11

involved intentional conduct. Although the government believes that this Court’s

precedent was wrongly decided, it concedes that—unless that precedent is abrogated


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by the Supreme Court or overruled by this Court sitting en banc—Count 18 should

be vacated.

ARGUMENT

The Supreme Court’s Decision in United States v. Davis Does Not Invalidate
Tsarnaev’s Convictions on Counts 13, 15, 16, or 17, but It Does Require Vacatur
of Count 18 Under This Court’s Precedent.

In his Second Supplemental Opening Brief, Tsarnaev contends that the

Supreme Court’s recent decision in United States v. Davis, 139 S. Ct. 2319 (2019), which

held that 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(B)’s definition of a “crime of violence” is

unconstitutionally vague, requires this Court to vacate his convictions on five counts

under § 924(c) and (j) (Counts 13, 15, 16, 17, and 18). 2nd Supp. Br. 5-20. Tsarnaev’s

convictions on Counts 13, 15, 16, and 17 remain valid even after Davis because they

are based on predicate offenses that are “crimes of violence” under § 924(c)(3)(A)—

that is, they “ha[ve] as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of

physical force against the person or property of another.” Those offenses are capital

offenses that require an intentional act of violence under the Federal Death Penalty

Act (“FDPA”). And each of those offenses require proof that death resulted, which

independently ensures that they have as an element the use of physical force. The

predicate offense under Count 18, however, does not fall within § 924(c)(3)(A) under

this Court’s precedent because it can be committed with a mens rea of recklessness.

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A. Background

Section 924(c) provides that “any person who, during and in relation to any

crime of violence . . . , uses or carries a firearm” shall be sentenced to a term of

imprisonment that is consecutive to the sentence for the underlying crime of

violence.1 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A). Section 924(c)(3) defines “crime of violence” as a

felony that either “has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of

physical force against the person or property of another,” 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(A), or

“by its nature, involves a substantial risk that physical force against the person or

property of another may be used in the course of committing the offense,” 18 U.S.C.

§ 924(c)(3)(B). Davis struck down the latter definition as unconstitutionally vague.

139 S. Ct. at 2336.

Section 924(c) prescribes different minimum sentences depending on whether

the firearm was “use[d] or carrie[d],” “brandished,” or “discharged.” 18 U.S.C.

§ 924(c)(1)(A)(i)-(iii). A separate provision, § 924(j), increases the maximum penalty

to death if the defendant, “in the course of a violation of subsection (c), causes the

death of a person through the use of a firearm” and the killing is a murder as defined

in 18 U.S.C. § 1111. 18 U.S.C. § 924(j)(1).

1
For purposes of § 924(c), the term “firearm” includes “destructive device[s]”
such as bombs. 18 U.S.C. § 921(a)(3), (4).
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The indictment in this case charged Tsarnaev with 15 counts of violating

§ 924(c). Add.1-65. The five counts at issue here each charged him with “possession

and use of a firearm during and relation to a crime of violence resulting in death,” in

violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) and (j). Add.34, 38, 40, 42, 44 (capitalization omitted).

Each of the § 924(c) counts Tsarnaev challenges were charged as capital offenses.

Add. 66-71.

The underlying crimes of violence for each of those counts are as follows:

§ 924(c) & Predicate Offense


(j) Count
Count 13 Count 12 Capital Malicious Destruction of Property Resulting in
Personal Injury and Death (18 U.S.C. § 844(i))
Count 15 Count 14 Capital Malicious Destruction of Property Resulting in
Personal Injury and Death (18 U.S.C. § 844(i))
Count 16 Count 1 Capital Conspiracy to Use a Weapon of Mass Destruction
Resulting in Death (18 U.S.C. § 2332a(a)(2))
Count 17 Count 6 Capital Conspiracy to Bomb a Place of Public Use
Resulting in Death (18 U.S.C. § 2332f(a)(1) & (c))
Count 18 Count 11 Conspiracy to Maliciously Destroy Property Resulting in
Personal Injury and Death (18 U.S.C. § 844(i) & (n))

Add.5, 21, 31, 32, 36. Because four of these predicate offenses were charged as

capital counts, the FDPA required the government to prove the existence of one or

more “gateway factors” in 18 U.S.C. § 3591(a)(2) with respect to a given count before

Tsarnaev was eligible for the death penalty on that count.

Without objection from Tsarnaev, the district court instructed the jury at the

guilt phase that each of the § 924(c) predicate offenses alleged in the indictment was a

“crime of violence” as a matter of law. 15.App.6878-81; Doc. 1232 at 36-39. The

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jury convicted Tsarnaev on all counts. Add.74a-74af, 96. As relevant here, the jury

unanimously found two gateway factors—that Tsarnaev “intentionally killed the

victim” and “intentionally inflicted serious bodily injury that resulted in the death of

the victim”—with respect to Counts 1, 6, and 14. Add.79-80; 18 U.S.C.

§ 3591(a)(2)(A), (B). And with respect to all of the death-eligible predicate offenses

(which included Counts 1, 6, 12, and 14), the jury unanimously found that Tsarnaev

“intentionally participated in an act, contemplating that the life of a person would be

taken or intending that lethal force would be used in connection with a person . . . and

the victim died as a direct result of the act,” 18 U.S.C. § 3591(a)(2)(C), and

“intentionally and specifically engaged in an act of violence, knowing that the act

created a grave risk of death to a person . . . such that participation in the act

constituted a reckless disregard for human life and the victim died as a direct result of

the act,” 18 U.S.C. § 3591(a)(2)(D). Add.80. The jury imposed the death penalty on

six counts, including one § 924(c) count (Count 15) and one predicate offense (Count

14). Add.96.

On June 24, 2015, the district court imposed the death sentence on Count 15

and consecutive life sentences on Counts 13, 16, 17, and 18, and entered judgment.

Add.104. Two days later, the Supreme Court held in Johnson v. United States, 135 S. Ct.

2551, 2557 (2015), that the “residual clause” of the definition of a “violent felony” in

the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)(ii)—which is worded

similarly to the definition of a “crime of violence” in § 924(c)(3)(B)—was


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unconstitutionally vague. In light of Johnson, Tsarnaev moved for judgment of

acquittal on all of his § 924(c) counts on the grounds that “none of [his] predicate

offenses categorically” qualified as crimes of violence under § 924(c)(3)(A) and that

§ 924(c)(3)(B) was unconstitutionally vague. Doc. 1506 at 29. Although Federal Rule

of Criminal Procedure 29 ordinarily requires a motion for judgment of acquittal to be

filed within 14 days after a guilty verdict, the district court had granted Tsarnaev until

August 17, 2015, to file such a motion. Doc. 1448. The government argued,

however, that Tsarnaev had waived his challenge to the § 924(c) counts by failing to

raise the challenge before trial, as required by Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure

12(b). Doc. 1542 at 14-15.

The district court denied Tsarnaev’s motion for judgment of acquittal,

concluding that § 924(c)(3)(B) was not void for vagueness and that, in any event, all of

the challenged predicate offenses were crimes of violence under § 924(c)(3)(A). Doc.

1620 at 23-36. The court noted that Tsarnaev may have waived any argument that his

§ 924(c) predicate offenses failed to satisfy § 924(c)(3)(A)’s elements clause (and may

have forfeited the argument for purposes of appeal), but the court did not resolve the

waiver issue because it found no error. Doc. 1620 at 30 n.22.

B. Standard of review

This Court ordinarily reviews de novo arguments that are preserved in a motion

for judgment of acquittal. United States v. Tkhilaishvili, 926 F.3d 1, 10 (1st Cir. 2019).

But a motion for judgment of acquittal was not the proper way to preserve Tsarnaev’s
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claim. His argument was not that “the evidence [wa]s insufficient to sustain a

conviction,” Fed. R. Crim. P. 29(a), but that, regardless of the strength of the

evidence, the challenged counts were subject to dismissal and the district court’s

instructions that certain offenses were “crime[s] of violence” were erroneous. Rule

12(b) requires that all defenses based on defects in the indictment “must be raised by

pretrial motion if the basis for the motion is then reasonably available.” Fed. R. Crim.

P. 12(b)(3). And Rule 30 requires the parties to object to jury instructions before the

jury retires to deliberate. Fed. R. Crim. P. 30(d). Tsarnaev could have argued before

trial (and before jury deliberations) that § 924(c)(3)(B) was unconstitutionally vague

and that his predicate offenses were not crimes of violence under § 924(c)(3)(A), yet

he did not. Tsarnaev therefore failed to preserve the arguments made in his Second

Supplemental Opening Brief, and his arguments should be reviewed only for plain

error. Fed. R. Crim. P. 52(b).

Tsarnaev cites United States v. Cruz-Rivera, 904 F.3d 63, 65 (1st Cir. 2018), cert.

denied, 139 S. Ct. 1391 (2019), where this Court treated as “preserved” a challenge to a

§ 924(c) predicate raised in a Rule 29 motion. But in Cruz-Rivera the government

never challenged the preservation of the claim, so this Court did not definitively opine

on whether a Rule 29 motion is a proper means of preserving an argument that a

§ 924(c) charge is invalid.

Tsarnaev also cites United States v. García-Ortiz, 904 F.3d 102, 106 (1st Cir.

2018), cert. denied, 139 S. Ct. 1208 (2019), which overlooked a defendant’s failure to
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preserve a claim that Hobbs Act robbery is not a § 924(c) predicate. García-Ortiz

relied on Lassend v. United States, 898 F.3d 115, 123 (1st Cir. 2018), cert. denied, 139 S.

Ct. 1300 (2019), which held that a defendant could show cause to excuse his

procedural default on collateral review where his claim was based on “the Supreme

Court’s overruling of its own precedent.”

This Court should not extend García-Ortiz to this case. Because the Court

found no error in García-Ortiz, the standard of review was not determinative and the

Court’s statements were dicta. See García-Ortiz, 904 F.3d at 106. And, unlike the

procedural default rule at issue in Lassend, Rule 52(b)’s plain-error rule contains no

exception for good cause. Reading García-Ortiz to have created an exception to Rule

52(b) would be contrary to Supreme Court precedent. See Johnson v. United States, 520

U.S. 461, 466 (1997) (concluding that the Court had “no authority” to “creat[e] out of

whole cloth . . . an exception” to Rule 52(b)); Carlisle v. United States, 517 U.S. 416, 426

(1996) (noting that federal courts do not have inherent power “to develop rules that

circumvent or conflict with the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure”). Because

Tsarnaev failed to properly preserve his arguments, plain-error review applies.2 But

2
The government recognizes that, to the extent the challenged § 924(c) charges
are not based on offenses that are crimes of violence under § 924(c)(3)(A), Tsarnaev
can show in light of Davis that reliance on § 924(c)(3)(B) was “plain” error that
“affected [his] substantial rights” and “seriously affect[ed] the fairness, integrity, or
public reputation of judicial proceedings.” United States v. Marcus, 560 U.S. 258, 262
(2010) (internal quotation marks omitted). But as to four of the five challenged
counts, Tsarnaev cannot show that it is “clear or obvious” that the predicate offenses
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his arguments with respect to four of the challenged counts would fail even under a de

novo standard because he can show no error.

Tsarnaev failed to raise any challenge to his § 924(c) convictions in his opening

brief, which would ordinarily constitute waiver. See United States v. Mayendía-Blanco, 905

F.3d 26, 32 (1st Cir. 2018). This Court has, however, “accepted arguments raised for

the first time in supplemental briefing under exceptional circumstances, such as a

substantial change in applicable law.” Id. at 33. See United States v. Vázquez-Rivera, 407

F.3d 476, 487 (1st Cir. 2005) (allowing arguments based on United States v. Booker, 543

U.S. 220 (2005), to be raised in a supplemental brief).

C. The capital offense of malicious destruction of property resulting


in death is a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(A).

Tsarnaev first argues that Counts 13 and 15 are invalid because the predicate

offense for those counts—malicious destruction of property under 18 U.S.C. § 844(i)

(often referred to simply as “arson”)—is not a crime of violence under § 924(c)(3)(A).

He argues that § 844(i) is “overbroad” because (1) it can be committed by maliciously

destroying one’s own property (and thus does not require “as an element” that force

be used against “the person or property of another,” 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(A) (emphasis

added)), and (2) it can be committed with a mens rea of recklessness, rather than

knowingly or intentionally. 2nd Supp. Br. 6, 10.

were not crimes of violence under § 924(c)(3)(A). Id. (internal quotation marks
omitted).
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1. A person cannot commit capital arson resulting in death


without using physical force against the person of another.

The crime of violence underlying Counts 13 and 15—capital arson resulting in

death under 18 U.S.C. § 844(i) as charged in Counts 12 and 14—qualifies as a “crime

of violence” under § 924(c)(3)(A) because it “has as an element the use, attempted

use, or threatened use of physical force against the person . . . of another.” “Physical

force” in this context means “force capable of causing physical pain or injury to

another person,” Johnson v. United States, 559 U.S. 133, 140 (2010) (interpreting

analogous provision of the ACCA), including any “amount of force necessary to

overcome a victim’s resistance,” Stokeling v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 544, 555 (2019)

(also interpreting the ACCA). The force may be indirect and involve no actual bodily

contact, such as using poison to cause physical harm. United States v. Castleman, 572

U.S. 157, 171 (2014).

To determine whether an offense falls within the definition of a “crime of

violence” in § 924(c)(3)(A), courts generally apply a “categorical approach.” See United

States v. Taylor, 848 F.3d 476, 491 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 137 S. Ct. 2255 (2017); see also,

e.g., Mathis v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 2243, 2248 (2016) (describing categorical

approach in context of the ACCA); Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575, 602 (1990)

(same). Under that approach, a court “focus[es] solely” on “the elements of the crime

of conviction,” not “the particular facts of the case.” Mathis, 136 S. Ct. at 2248. If the

statute of conviction lists multiple alternative elements, as opposed to alternative

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means of committing a single element, it is “divisible” into different offenses. Id. at

2249. To classify a conviction under a divisible statute, a court may “look[ ] to a

limited class of documents (for example, the indictment, jury instructions, or plea

agreement and colloquy) to determine what crime, with what elements, [the]

defendant was convicted of.” Id.

Capital arson resulting in death qualifies as a crime of violence under

§ 924(c)(3)(A) for two reasons. First, because it is a capital offense, it requires proof of

at least one of the gateway factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3591(a)(2) in order to increase the

statutory maximum punishment to death, each of which necessarily involves the use

of physical force against the person of another. See Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584, 609

(2002) (holding that “aggravating circumstance[s] necessary for imposition of the

death penalty” are elements of the capital offense that must be found by a jury); see

also Mathis, 136 S. Ct. at 2256 (“If statutory alternatives carry different punishments,

then under Apprendi [v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000)] they must be elements.”);

Burrage v. United States, 571 U.S. 204, 210 (2014) (explaining that a fact that “increase[s]

the minimum and maximum sentences to which [a defendant is] exposed . . . is an

element that must be submitted to the jury and found beyond a reasonable doubt”).

Those gateway factors require a showing that the defendant intentionally (A) “killed

the victim,” (B) “inflicted serious bodily injury that resulted in the death of the

victim,” (C) “participated in an act, contemplating that the life of a person would be

taken or intending that lethal force would be used in connection with a person . . . and
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the victim died as a direct result of the act,” or (D) “engaged in an act of violence,

knowing that the act created a grave risk of death to a person, other than one of the

participants in the offense, such that participation in the act constituted a reckless

disregard for human life and the victim died as a direct result of the act.” 18 U.S.C.

§ 3591(a)(2)(A)-(D).

Each of these factors requires the intentional use of physical force. The first

two factors require the defendant to have intentionally “killed” the victim or “inflicted

serious bodily injury” resulting in death, while the remaining two factors require

intentionally participating in an “act” that directly resulted in the victim’s death. All

four factors thus require a use of force sufficient to kill the victim. The gateway

factors’ requirement of force that actually kills a victim is sufficient under the

elements clause because such force is necessarily “capable of causing physical pain or

injury.” Johnson, 559 U.S. at 140. See Castleman, 572 U.S. at 174 (Scalia, J., concurring in

part and concurring in the judgment) (“[I]t is impossible to cause bodily injury

without using force ‘capable of’ producing that result.”). Simply put, without the

“use” of force, the victim would not have died.

In this case, although the jury ultimately selected the death sentence only on

one of the § 924(c) predicates at issue (Count 14), it found Tsarnaev eligible for the

death penalty on Count 12 (as well as the conspiracy charges in Counts 1 and 6,

discussed further below), meaning it found him guilty of the offense of capital arson

as to both counts. See Add. 79-81 (special verdict form finding at least one gateway
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factor as to Counts 12 and 14); Mathis, 136 S. Ct. at 2249 (noting that, when a statute

is divisible, the court may look to underlying documents to determine the specific

crime and elements for which the defendant was convicted). Accordingly, the

relevant predicate offense for which Tsarnaev was actually convicted in Counts 12

and 14 is capital arson. And that offense categorically has as an element—imported

from the gateway factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3591(a)(2)—the use, attempted use, or

threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another because no

defendant can be subjected to the death penalty for that offense without a jury finding

beyond a reasonable doubt that he used force capable of causing physical pain or

injury against another person.

Second, even in the non-capital context, the offense of arson resulting in death

requires the use of force. Section 844(i) makes it a crime to “maliciously damage[ ] or

destroy[ ] . . . by means of fire or an explosive, any building, vehicle, or other real or

personal property used in interstate or foreign commerce.” 18 U.S.C. § 844(i). The

statute ordinarily authorizes a prison sentence of “not less than 5 years and not more

than 20 years.” Id. But it authorizes a sentence of “not less than 7 years and not

more than 40 years” if “personal injury results to any person,” and a sentence of death

or life imprisonment “if death results to any person.” Id.

Because the death-results provision triggers an enhanced penalty, it is an

element of the aggravated offense of arson resulting in death. See Burrage, 571 U.S. at

210 (“Because the ‘death results’ [penalty] enhancement [in 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)]
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increased the minimum and maximum sentences to which Burrage was exposed, it is

an element that must be submitted to the jury and found beyond a reasonable

doubt.”); Jones v. United States, 526 U.S. 227, 252 (1999) (holding that carjacking

statute’s provision for higher penalties where the carjacking results in “serious injury”

or “death” established “separate offenses by the specification of distinct elements”);

United States v. Joyner, 313 F.3d 40, 45 (2nd Cir. 2002) (holding that death-resulting

provision of arson statute is an element that must be found by a jury).

To prove the offense of arson resulting in death, the government necessarily

must prove that the defendant used “physical force” on the victim. The requirement

that “death results” from the arson requires a causal connection between the arson

and the death. See Burrage, 571 U.S. at 214 (“a phrase such as ‘results from’ imposes a

requirement of but-for causation”); United States v. Hayes, 589 F.2d 811, 821 (5th Cir.

1979) (holding that the “death results” provision of 18 U.S.C. § 242 incorporates

general principles of causation and noting that death would not “result” from a

Section 242 violation if the victim is struck by lightning while being detained pursuant

to an illegal arrest). It is difficult to imagine any scenario in which a defendant could

commit arson resulting in death without using physical force—directly or indirectly—

upon his victim. As the Supreme Court has found, even the indirect use of force such

as “employing poison” or “pulling the trigger on a gun” counts as the “use of force”

against the person of another. Castleman, 572 U.S. at 171. So too, using “fire or an

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explosive” in a way that causes the death of another person constitutes the use of

force against another. 18 U.S.C. § 844(i).

Tsarnaev argues that arson does not categorically satisfy § 924(c)(3)(A)’s

elements clause “because it encompasses the destruction of one’s own property.” 2nd

Supp. App. 6; see id. at 6-10. He is correct that the offense of arson simpliciter, without

the additional element of serious bodily injury or death resulting, is not categorically a

crime of violence. See, e.g., United States v. Salas, 889 F.3d 681, 684 (10th Cir. 2018),

cert. denied, 139 S. Ct. 2773 (2019). The offense can be committed without using

physical force against the “person or property of another.” 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(A)

(emphasis added). But where death results, the burning-your-own-building problem is

beside the point. One cannot commit the death-resulting offense without using

physical force against the “person . . . of another.” Id. (emphasis added).

2. Capital arson resulting in death requires intentional


conduct.

Tsarnaev next argues that arson under § 844(i) “is not an elements-clause crime

of violence for a second, independent reason: the offense requires a mens rea of only

recklessness, whereas § 924(c)(3)(A) demands conduct that is intentional.” 2nd Supp.

Br. 10. It is true that § 844(i)’s mens rea of acting “maliciously” does not require

intentional conduct, but can be satisfied by some degree of recklessness. See United

States v. Grady, 746 F.3d 846, 848-49 (7th Cir. 2014). Moreover, this Court has held (in

the context of the ACCA) that merely reckless conduct does not categorically involve

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the use of physical force against the person or property of another. United States v.

Rose, 896 F.3d 104, 109-10 (1st Cir. 2018); United States v. Windley, 864 F.3d 36, 39 (1st

Cir. 2017) (per curiam); Bennett v. United States, 868 F.3d 1, 8 (1st Cir. 2017), opinion

withdrawn, 870 F.3d 34 (1st Cir. 2017).

As explained above, however, Tsarnaev was charged with capital arson resulting

in death, which requires the jury to find the existence of at least one of the gateway

factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3591(a)(2). Those factors require intentional conduct that

causes the victim’s death. The first three factors require a showing that the defendant

“intentionally killed the victim”; “intentionally inflicted serious bodily injury that resulted

in the death of the victim”; or “intentionally participated in an act, contemplating that

the life of a person would be taken or intending that lethal force would be used in

connection with a person . . . and the victim died as a direct result of the act.” 18

U.S.C. § 3591(a)(2)(A)-(C) (emphasis added). These factors clearly require the

intentional or knowing taking of human life and do not embrace recklessness.

The final gateway factor is satisfied if the defendant “intentionally and

specifically engaged in an act of violence, knowing that the act created a grave risk of

death to a person, other than one of the participants in the offense, such that

participation in the act constituted a reckless disregard for human life and the victim

died as a direct result of the act.” 18 U.S.C. § 3591(a)(2)(D). Although this factor

refers to “reckless disregard for human life,” it also requires that the defendant

“intentionally and specifically engage[ ] in an act of violence.” Id. As the Fifth Circuit
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has explained, the “ordinary meaning” of the term “act of violence” in § 3591(a)(2)(D)

requires the “use of physical force.” United States v. Williams, 610 F.3d 271, 286, 288

(5th Cir. 2010). See Johnson, 559 U.S. at 140 (“Even by itself, the word ‘violent’ . . .

connotes a substantial degree of force.”); United States v. Baskerville, 491 F.Supp.2d 516,

522 (D. N.J. 2007) (holding that the ordinary meaning of “act of violence” in §

3591(a)(2)(D) means “an act that involves the use of physical force”). Thus, although

this final gateway factor can involve recklessness with respect to the ultimate death,

recklessness alone is not sufficient. Rather, § 3591(a)(2)(D) requires an intentional act

of violence that resulted in death, which cannot be committed without the intentional

use of physical force. That is all this Court’s precedent demands.

In the alternative, even assuming the predicate offenses require only reckless

conduct, the Supreme Court has made clear that reckless conduct can satisfy a use-of-

force requirement. See Voisine v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 2272, 2279 (2016)

(concluding that the word “use” in the phrase “use . . . of physical force” in 18 U.S.C.

§ 921(a)(33)(A) is “indifferent as to whether the actor has the mental state of

intention, knowledge, or recklessness with respect to the harmful consequences of his

volitional conduct”). The government acknowledges that, even after Voisine, this

Court in Rose rejected that argument in the context of the ACCA, see Rose, 896 F.3d at

109-10, and this panel is bound by Rose. However, the government seeks to preserve

for purposes of potential further review its position that arson resulting in death—

even without the added intent element required by the Federal Death Penalty Act—
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categorically requires the use of force against the person of another under

§ 924(c)(3)(A)’s elements clause.

Because Counts 12 and 14 charged capital arson resulting in death, they were

crimes of violence under § 924(c)(3)(A)’s elements clause. Tsarnaev’s § 924(c) and (j)

convictions under Counts 13 and 15 are therefore valid even after Davis.

3. Tsarnaev’s contrary arguments are unpersuasive.

Tsarnaev argues that it is “immaterial” that the jury unanimously found the

death-resulting element of his aggravated offense beyond a reasonable doubt. 2nd

Supp. Br. 11. First, he argues that “th[is] element[ ] do[es] not figure in the

§ 924(c)(3)(A) analysis because Counts 13 and 15 alleged that the predicate crimes of

violence were ‘malicious destruction of property’ simpliciter, not ‘malicious

destruction of property resulting in . . . death.’” Id. at 12 (quoting Add.34, 38). He

asserts that “to indict Tsarnaev on Counts 13 and 15, the grand jury did not have to

find probable cause that his malicious destruction of property resulted in personal

injury or death,” and that the petit jury did not “have to find these elements proved”

in order to convict him on those counts. Id. He is incorrect.

As an initial matter, the grand jury did find probable cause that the arsons

resulted in death in order to indict Tsarnaev on Counts 12 and 14, the counts

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underlying Counts 13 and 15. 3 Add.32, 36 (“The Grand Jury further charges that the

offense resulted in the death of at least one person . . . .”). And Counts 13 and 15

specifically incorporated Counts 12 and 14, referring to “malicious destruction of

property, as charged in Count Twelve” and “as charged in Count 14.” Id. at 34, 38 (emphasis

added); see also 15.App.6878 (instructing the jury that “Counts Thirteen and Fifteen

charge the defendant with using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to the

crime[s] of violence alleged in Counts Twelve and Fourteen.”). The fact that Counts

13 and 15 used shorthand to refer to the underlying counts—“malicious destruction

of property, as charged in Count [X],” Add.34, 38, rather than “capital malicious

destruction of property resulting in personal injury and death,” Add.32, 36—does not

mean that the indictment’s allegations and the jury’s actual finding that death resulted

should be ignored.

Moreover, even assuming the indictment were somehow unclear (which it is

not), this Court may look to the underlying record, including the jury’s special verdict,

to determine the “elements” of the aggravated offense of which Tsarnaev was actually

convicted. See Mathis, 136 S. Ct. at 2249. As explained above, the jury’s finding by

special verdict of both the “death results” element and the capital “gateway” intent

The grand jury also found probable cause for the gateway intent factors as to
3

Counts 12 and 14. See Add.66-69.


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element for Counts 12 and 14 makes clear that Tsarnaev was convicted of capital

arson resulting in death. See Add. 74m, 74o, 79-81.

Tsarnaev next argues that “even if considered,” the death-resulting element

“do[es] not cure § 844(i)’s overbreadth” because the statute applies to “destroying

one’s own property, not the property of another” and requires only “a mens rea of

recklessness, not intent.” 2d Supp. Br. 12-13. That argument is meritless for the

reasons explained above: arson resulting in death requires using force against the

person of another, and capital arson resulting in death requires the intentional use of

physical force.

Tsarnaev also argues that the death-resulting element “adds no further actus

reus or mens rea requirements to the basic offense.” 2d Supp. Br. 13. Contrary to

Tsarnaev’s argument, however, the death-resulting element adds a requirement that

the defendant’s conduct actually resulted in the death of another person, which

demonstrates that the defendant used force against that person. And the gateway

factors add an additional element that requires an intentional act of violence that

directly resulted in the death of another person.

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D. The offenses of capital conspiracy to use a weapon of mass


destruction resulting in death and capital conspiracy to bomb a
place of public use resulting in death are crimes of violence under
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(3)(A).

Tsarnaev next argues that Counts 16 through 18 are invalid because they are

based on conspiracy counts. 4 2nd Supp. Br. 15-17. “Conspiracy is an inchoate

offense, the essence of which is an agreement to commit an unlawful act.” Iannelli v.

United States, 420 U.S. 770, 777 (1975). Ordinarily, “conspiracy’s elements are met as

soon as the participants have made an agreement.” Sessions v. Dimaya, 138 S. Ct. 1204,

1219 (2018). Even where a conspiracy offense requires proof of an overt act, that act

need not be violent or even “be itself a crime.” Braverman v. United States, 317 U.S. 49,

53 (1942). Thus, simply conspiring to commit a violent act does not necessarily have as

an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force. Accordingly,

most conspiracies to commit what would otherwise be crimes of violence are not

categorically crimes of violence under § 924(c)(3)(A). See United States v. Douglas, 907

F.3d 1, 6 n.7 (1st Cir. 2018) (noting Department of Justice’s position), vacated, 139 S.

Ct. 2775 (2019).

The analysis is different, however, where the defendant is convicted of

conspiracy to commit an offense that results in death, particularly where the offense is

a capital one. When death has actually resulted, the offense has moved beyond an

4
Count 18 is addressed separately below.

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inchoate agreement. The conspirators must have engaged in some act that resulted in

death. And the death must have resulted from the use of force.

Although it might be possible to imagine scenarios in which death resulted

from a still-inchoate conspiracy involving no use of force—such as where a person

overheard the defendants’ agreement to commit a crime and died of a heart attack—

the Supreme Court has cautioned against using “legal imagination” to treat an offense

as categorically overbroad. See Moncrieffe v. Holder, 569 U.S. 184, 191 (2013) (internal

quotation marks omitted); id. (“there must be ‘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’”) (quoting Gonzales v. Duenas-Alvarez, 549 U.S. 183, 193

(2007)); United States v. Hill, 890 F.3d 51, 56 (2d Cir. 2018) (“To show that a particular

reading of the statute is realistic, a defendant must at least point to his own case or

other cases in which the courts in fact did apply the statute in the manner for which

he argues. To that end, the categorical approach must be grounded in reality, logic,

and precedent, not flights of fancy.”) (internal quotation marks, citation, and ellipses

omitted), cert. denied, 139 S. Ct. 844 (2019). Tsarnaev has cited no case involving such

a situation.

Tsarnaev argues that the death-results element does no work in the conspiracy

context because he need not have “intended to cause death” and “the unintended

causation of death does not constitute the use of force” under Leocal v. Ashcroft, 543

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U.S. 1, 9-10 (2004). 2d Supp. Br. 18 n.3. He is mistaken. The conspiracy counts

underlying Counts 16 and 17 require an intent to use force.

Count 16 is premised on Count 1, which charged conspiracy to use a weapon

of mass destruction, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2332a(a)(2). See Add.5. That statute

applies to any person “who, without lawful authority, uses, threatens, or attempts or

conspires to use, a weapon of mass destruction . . . against any person or property within

the United States” that has a specified connection with interstate commerce. 18

U.S.C. § 2332a(a)(2) (emphasis added). In order to convict Tsarnaev on this count,

the jury had to find that he agreed with another person to use a weapon of mass

destruction and that he “knowingly and voluntarily joined in the agreement intending

that the crime of using a weapon of mass destruction be committed.” 15.App.6850

(emphasis added). Thus, to convict Tsarnaev of the death-resulting version of this

offense, the jury had to find that he intended to use a weapon of mass destruction

“against any person or property” and that death resulted. Because death actually

resulted, the crime was no longer purely inchoate and the jury necessarily found both

that Tsarnaev intended to use force against the person or property of another and that

he or a co-conspirator actually did use such force to kill a person.

The same is true of Count 17, which is based on the offense charged in Count

6 of conspiracy to bomb a place of public use resulting in death, in violation of 18

U.S.C. § 2332f(a)(1). See Add.21. That statute applies to anyone who “unlawfully

delivers, places, discharges, or detonates an explosive or other lethal device in, into, or
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against a place of public use . . . (A) with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury, or

(B) with the intent to cause extensive destruction of such a place.” 18 U.S.C. § 2332f(a)(1)

(emphasis added). In order to convict Tsarnaev of conspiring to commit this offense,

the jury had to find that he “agreed with another to bomb a place of public use,” that

he “knowingly and voluntarily joined in that agreement intending that the crime of

bombing a place of public use be committed,” and that death resulted from that

offense. 15.App.6850-51 (emphasis added). Tsarnaev could not take part in a

conspiracy to bomb a place of public use that resulted in death without specifically

intending to kill or seriously injure a person or to destroy a place of public use and

actually killing another person. To do so, he had to intentionally use force against that

person.

Moreover, because Tsarnaev was charged with capital conspiracy to use a

weapon of mass destruction resulting in death and capital conspiracy to bomb a place

of public use with death resulting, the jury had to find that he intended to commit a

violent act. See 18 U.S.C. § 3591(a)(2).

E. Under this Court’s precedent, non-capital conspiracy to commit


arson resulting in death is not a crime of violence.

Count 18 is premised on Count 11, which charged conspiracy to commit arson

resulting in death, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 844(i) and (n). Unlike the other § 924(c)

predicates at issue, Count 11 was not a capital count. See 18 U.S.C. § 844(n) (death

penalty not authorized for conspiracy to commit arson). As explained above, because

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Count 11 charged that the conspiracy to commit arson resulted in death, the

conspiracy was no longer merely an inchoate agreement. The jury had to find that

Tsarnaev or his co-conspirator took some action that caused a death. In the

government’s view, this necessarily means that the offense involved the use of

physical force against the person of another.

This Court, however, has held that to constitute the “use . . . of physical force

against the person of another” the conduct must be intentional, and not merely

reckless. Rose, 896 F.3d at 109; Windley, 864 F.3d at 37 n.2; Bennett, 868 F.3d at 18-20.

Although conspiracy to commit arson requires intent to destroy property, see

15.App.6851, the property destroyed may be one’s own. The crime does not

necessarily require proof that the defendant intended the resulting death. See id.

Therefore, under this Court’s precedent, the non-capital conspiracy charged in Count

11 is not a crime of violence under § 924(c)(3)(A), and Count 18 therefore lacks a

valid predicate. As noted above, the government believes the relevant precedent was

wrongly decided and seeks to preserve that issue for possible further review. But

under this Court’s precedent as it currently stands, Count 18 should be vacated.

F. Count 18’s invalidity does not affect the validity of Tsarnaev’s


remaining convictions.

The appropriate remedy for Counts 18’s invalidity is to vacate Count 18 and

the sentence of life imprisonment imposed on that count. Even if some or all of the

remaining challenged § 924(c) and (j) counts were invalid, the appropriate remedy

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would be the same—to vacate Tsarnaev’s convictions on those counts. Tsarnaev has

not argued that vacatur of the challenged counts would affect the validity of his death

sentences on the five other counts; he argues only that this Court should “vacate [his]

convictions on Counts 13, 15, 16, 17, and 18.” 2nd Supp. Br. 20. He has therefore

waived any claim that the alleged invalidity of the five challenged counts affected the

validity of his remaining death sentences. Mayendía-Blanco, 905 F.3d at 32.

But even if he had raised such an argument, it would fail. The district court

instructed the jury to consider each count separately without regard to the other

counts. See 19.App.8658 (“You must deliberate and determine the appropriate

sentence for each of the capital counts individually.”); 8659 (“[T]he number of counts

does not by itself mean that the defendant’s conduct is more blameworthy or that he

is deserving of greater punishment.”); 8694 (instructing that for each capital count for

which the jury had found at least one gateway factor and one statutory aggravating

factor, “you must engage in a weighing process with regard to that count”). And the

verdict form shows that the jury followed those instructions. The jury chose to

impose the death penalty only on six counts, even though it found at least one

gateway factor and one statutory aggravating factor with respect to all 17 of the capital

counts. Add.79-84, 95-96. There is therefore no indication that the existence of

Count 15 (on which Tsarnaev was sentenced to death) or Counts 13, 16, 17, and 18

(on which Tsarnaev received life sentences) affected the jury’s decision to impose

death on the five remaining counts.


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CONCLUSION

This Court should vacate Tsarnaev’s conviction and sentence on Count 18, but

otherwise affirm the judgment of the district court.

Respectfully submitted,

ANDREW E. LELLING BRIAN A. BENCZKOWSKI


United States Attorney Assistant Attorney General

NADINE PELLEGRINI MATTHEW S. MINER


Assistant United States Attorney Deputy Assistant Attorney General
District of Massachusetts
s/William A. Glaser
JOHN C. DEMERS WILLIAM A. GLASER
Assistant Attorney General Attorney, Appellate Section
National Security Division Criminal Division
U.S. Department of Justice
JOSEPH F. PALMER 950 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Attorney Washington, DC 20530
National Security Division (202) 532-4495
William.Glaser@usdoj.gov

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CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE

1. This brief complies with the type-volume limitation of Fed. R. App. P.

32(a)(7)(B) because it contains 7,227 words, excluding the parts of the brief exempted

by Fed. R. App. P. 32(f).

2. This brief complies with the typeface requirements of Fed. R. App. P.

32(a)(5) and the type style requirements of Fed. R. App. P. 32(a)(6) because it has

been prepared in a proportionally spaced typeface using Microsoft Word in

Garamond 14-point type.

s/William A. Glaser
WILLIAM A. GLASER

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that on August 30, 2019, I electronically filed the foregoing

document with the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit using the

CM/ECF system. I certify that all participants in the case are registered CM/ECF

users and that service will be accomplished by the CM/ECF system.

s/William A. Glaser
WILLIAM A. GLASER

30

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