Pasquazzi v. United States: Reaffirming the ACCA Predicate Status of Florida Aggravated Assault, Aggravated Battery, and Cocaine Offenses after Brown

1. Introduction

The Eleventh Circuit’s unpublished decision in United States v. Louis Michael Pasquazzi (No. 23-12994, 8 May 2025) revisits familiar—but recently contested—terrain under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA). Louis Pasquazzi, convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm and of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, received an ACCA-enhanced 216-month sentence after the district court treated three prior Florida convictions—aggravated assault, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute—as qualifying predicates. On appeal he attacked each predicate and challenged § 922(g)(1) under the Commerce Clause. The decision synthesises a trilogy of Supreme Court pronouncements (Borden, Taylor, Brown) with the Eleventh Circuit’s own precedent (Turner, Somers III, Jackson II, etc.), ultimately cementing the view that:

• Florida aggravated assault and aggravated battery remain “violent felonies” under the ACCA’s elements clause;
• Florida cocaine convictions under § 893.13(1)(a) remain “serious drug offenses” under the ACCA, even after the Supreme Court’s 2024 Brown decision; and
• The constitutionality of § 922(g)(1) survives Commerce Clause scrutiny under existing Eleventh Circuit precedent.

2. Summary of the Judgment

Applying de novo review to the legal questions, the panel (Jordan, Luck, Anderson, JJ.) issued a per curiam opinion affirming in full:

1. Aggravated Assault. Bound by Turner, Golden, and especially Somers III, the court rejected Pasquazzi’s invitation to treat Florida aggravated assault as non-violent after Borden. It held that Brown v. United States (2024) did not abrogate Somers III.
2. Aggravated Battery. Relying on Turner and Vereen, the panel found Florida aggravated battery with a deadly weapon categorically violent; the Supreme Court’s 2022 Taylor (dealing with attempted Hobbs Act robbery) was deemed inapposite.
3. Cocaine Offense. Under plain-error review, and guided by Jackson II, Brown, and Laines, the court upheld the classification of Pasquazzi’s 1998 cocaine conviction as a serious drug offense. He failed the realistic-probability test and forfeited a stereoisomer argument.
4. Commerce Clause Challenge. Following Stancil, McAllister, and Wright, the court rejected facial and as-applied attacks on § 922(g)(1).

3. Detailed Analysis

3.1 Precedents Cited and Their Influence

• Turner v. Warden (2013) – Established that Florida aggravated assault and aggravated battery (deadly-weapon or serious bodily harm variants) categorically involve the “use, attempted use, or threatened use” of physical force.
• Golden (2017) – Reaffirmed Turner; highlighted intra-circuit stare decisis constraints.
• Borden v. United States (2021) – Plurality said offenses satisfied by mere recklessness are not “violent felonies.” Spawned doubt about Florida assault statutes.
• Somers v. United States (Somers II & III, 2022-23) – Florida Supreme Court answered certified questions; Eleventh Circuit held aggravated assault requires “knowing” conduct, so Borden does not disqualify it.
• Taylor v. United States (2022) – Attempted Hobbs Act robbery not a § 924(c) violent crime; distinguished because it concerned attempt liability and no “deadly weapon” element.
• Jackson v. United States (Jackson II, 2022) – ACCA serious-drug-offense analysis uses federal schedules in effect at the time of the state conviction. Adopted by Supreme Court in Brown.
• Brown v. United States (2024) – Confirmed Jackson II and underscored ACCA’s backward-looking focus.
• Chamu (2022) & Laines (2023) – Clarified “realistic probability” methodology and burden allocation when asserting overbreadth.
• Stancil (2021), McAllister (1996), Wright (2010) – Continue to supply the “minimal nexus” rule for § 922(g).

3.2 Court’s Legal Reasoning

1. Prior-Panel Precedent Rule. The linchpin. Unless overruled by the Supreme Court or the Eleventh Circuit en banc, earlier panels bind later ones (Archer). The court repeatedly invoked this doctrine to foreclose Pasquazzi’s arguments.
2. Categorical/Modified Categorical Approaches. For violent-felony analysis, the court compared statutory elements not underlying facts. Aggravated assault/battery statutes, as authoritatively construed, necessarily entail the threatened or actual use of force.
3. Mens Rea after Borden. By relying on the Florida Supreme Court’s statement that aggravated assault cannot be committed recklessly, the panel fitted the statute neatly within the ACCA’s elements clause post-Borden.
4. Serious Drug Offense Temporal Lens. Echoing McNeill and now Brown, the panel looked to the 1998 federal drug schedule, which matched Florida’s then-current schedule (both covered cocaine and its optical/geometric isomers). Thus no categorical mismatch existed.
5. Plain-Error Constraint. Because the stereoisomer argument was unpreserved and contrary to circuit precedent, Pasquazzi could not satisfy the high hurdle of “clear or obvious” error.
6. Commerce Clause Minimal Nexus. Evidence that the firearm traveled interstate sufficed; the court regarded national felon-in-possession regulation as well within the channel/pipeline of commerce.

3.3 Likely Impact of the Decision

Although unpublished, the opinion is influential for three reasons:

• Stability of ACCA Predicates in the Eleventh Circuit. The decision signals that practitioners should not expect Borden or Brown to unravel established Florida violent-felony or serious-drug-offense precedents without Supreme Court intervention or an en banc reversal.
• Effect on Pending § 2255 Motions. Inmates seeking to set aside ACCA sentences based on the same Florida statutes will face an uphill battle; district courts can summarily rely on Somers III and now Pasquazzi.
• Burden-Shifting on Overbreadth Claims. The panel’s reliance on Laines reinforces that, under plain-error review, defendants must supply concrete Florida cases that prosecuted non-federal analogues.

4. Complex Concepts Simplified

• ACCA “violent felony”. A prior offense that, by its elements, involves the use, attempted use, or threatened use of violent physical force.
• Categorical vs. Modified Categorical. • Categorical: Compare statute’s elements to federal definition, ignoring actual facts. • Modified: If the statute is divisible (multiple alternative crimes), the court can look at limited documents (indictment, plea) to identify which alternative the defendant was convicted of.
• Mens rea spectrum. • Purpose/Intent → Knowledge → Recklessness → Negligence. Borden excludes crimes that can be committed with mere recklessness.
• Serious Drug Offense Temporal Rule. You “freeze” both state and federal drug schedules at the time of the prior conviction to test for overlap.
• Realistic Probability Test. Overbreadth arguments must show actual cases (or authoritative state interpretations) where the state prosecuted conduct that the federal analogue would not reach.
• Minimal Nexus. For § 922(g), proof that the firearm crossed state lines at any time satisfies the Commerce Clause—even if defendant’s possession was wholly intrastate.

5. Conclusion

United States v. Pasquazzi offers more than perfunctory application of precedent; it strategically consolidates the Eleventh Circuit’s post-Borden, post-Brown ACCA jurisprudence. Key takeaways are:

1. Florida aggravated assault and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon remain unequivocally “violent felonies.”
2. Florida cocaine convictions under § 893.13(1)(a) continue to qualify as “serious drug offenses,” with defendants bearing the burden to demonstrate any categorical mismatch.
3. The minimal-nexus framework keeps § 922(g)(1) safely within Commerce Clause bounds.
4. The Eleventh Circuit’s rigorous adherence to its prior-panel-precedent rule ensures stability but leaves critics to seek relief only through en banc or Supreme Court review.

For lawyers evaluating ACCA exposure in the Eleventh Circuit, Pasquazzi underscores that the door to challenging these Florida predicates is largely closed—for now.