Yes, Murder Is a Violent Offense

Last year, when the U.S. Supreme Court took up the case of Delligatti v. United States, I noted in this post the absurdity of the question. Today, the Court decided the case. Yes, murder is a “crime of violence” for the purpose of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c).

Justice Thomas wrote the opinion for the Court, joined by six other Justices. So who are two?

Justice Gorsuch dissented, joined by Justice Jackson. Justice Gorsuch was the darling of the libertarian wing of the Federalist Society when he was named as President Trump’s first Supreme Court nomination. As is often the case with our libertarian friends, when he is right he can be very good, but when he is wrong he can spin off into some bizarre conclusions.

Some conclusions are so absurd that they cannot possibly be correct. This is one of them. An argument that concludes that murder is not a violent offense must either begin with a faulty premise or proceed by faulty logic. See Justice Thomas’s opinion for details.