One doesn’t see many appellate wins for defendants repeatedly convicted of threatening to kill judges, but here’s one.

Last night CA3 issued a criminal-sentencing reversal involving application of the USSG 4B1.1(a) career-offender enhancement. The facts are a tangle, but the heart of it is that the panel held that the the Supreme Court decision in Descamps overruled prior circuit case law whereby, depending on the crime facts, some Pa. convictions for making terroristic threats could count as crimes of violence to trigger the enhancement.

The case is US v. Brown. Opinion by Ambro, joined by Barry and Restani Ct.Intl.Trade by designation. Arguing counsel were Thomas Patton for the defendant and Rebecca Ross Haywood for the government.