UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. ROBERT MCKINLEY WINSTON
US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Keenan, March 13, 2017,
ACCA- Violent Felony- Because Virginia common law robbery can be committed when a defendant uses only a “slight” degree of force that need not harm a victim, it does not qualify as a violent felony under the ACCA.

Wow. So… robbery as it’s defined in common-law states is NOT a violent felony, but burglary is??? High fives all around on statutory interpretation

A state conviction may be considered a “violent felony” under the ACCA if it “has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another”
The Supreme Court has held that it is unconstitutionally vague for the ACCA to include any crime that “involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.”
The Supreme Court has also defined “physical force” here as “violent force—that is, force capable of causing physical pain or injury to another person.”
Robbery (Virginia) – Virginia common law robbery is defined under the common law as the “taking, with intent to steal, of the personal property of another, from his person or in his presence, against his will, by violence or intimidation.”
Note: As Maryland’s robbery charge is rooted in the common-law and has been interpreted similarly, this line of cases makes it unlikely that a standard (unarmed) Maryland robbery charge would satisfy the ACCA definition of “violent felony.”