Ward v. US, No. 17-35563 (9-3-19)(Paez w/Bea & Royal). The 9th affirms a mandatory ACCA sentence. The 9th concludes that a prior Minnesota state conviction for aiding and abetting a simple robbery is a “violent felony” under Stokeling v. US, 139 S.Ct. 544 (2019).  As required by Stokeling, the minimum force required includes an “amount of force necessary to overcome a victim’s resistance.” The 9th’s prior distinction between “substantial” and “minimal” force is erased by Stokeling’s test. 

Tough loss in a spirited categorical fight by Melissa Weinberg, Deputy Defender, Federal Defender Services of Idaho (Boise).

The decision is here:

http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2019/09/03/17-35563.pdf