UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. TYREN L. CERVENAK - Articles

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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. TYREN L. CERVENAK

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Apr 2, 2025

Court: 6th Circuit Court (Published Opinions)

Attorneys 1: ARGUED EN BANC: Catherine Adinaro Shusky, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellant.

Attorneys 2: ARGUED EN BANC: Jason Manion, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellee.

Attorneys 3: ON SUPPLEMENTAL BRIEF: Catherine Adinaro Shusky, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellant.

Attorneys 4: ON SUPPLEMENTAL BRIEF: Jason Manion, James A. Ewing, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Cleveland, Ohio, for Appellee.

Judge(s): SUTTON, Chief Judge; MOORE, CLAY, GILMAN, McKEAGUE, GRIFFIN, KETHLEDGE, STRANCH, THAPAR, BUSH, LARSEN, NALBANDIAN, READLER, MURPHY, DAVIS, MATHIS, BLOOMEKATZ, and RITZ, Circuit Judges

Court Appealed: United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio at Cleveland

MATHIS, Circuit Judge. Congress instructed the Sentencing Commission to enhance the Sentencing Guidelines range for individuals convicted of a crime of violence or a controlled substance offense after having been previously convicted of two or more such offenses. 28 U.S.C. § 994(h). The Commission created the career-offender guideline in response to Congress’s directive. We must decide if the district court properly increased Tyren Cervenak’s Guidelines range under the career-offender guideline. Specifically, we consider whether Cervenak’s prior convictions for robbery under Ohio law are “crimes of violence,” as the Guidelines use that term. Because we hold that they are not, we vacate Cervenak’s sentence.

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