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AMENDMENTS TO THE GUIDELINES MANUAL

2024

AMENDMENT 601

The Commentary to §1B1.1 captioned "Application Notes" is amended in Note 1(c) by striking "that the weapon was pointed or waved about, or displayed in a threatening manner." and inserting the following:

"that all or part of the weapon was displayed, or the presence of the weapon was otherwise made known to another person, in order to intimidate that person, regardless of whether the weapon was directly visible to that person. Accordingly, although the dangerous weapon does not have to be directly visible, the weapon must be present.".

The Commentary to §1B1.1 captioned "Application Notes" is amended in Note 1 by striking subdivision (d) in its entirety and inserting the following:

"(d) ‘Dangerous weapon’ means (i) an instrument capable of inflicting death or serious bodily injury; or (ii) an object that is not an instrument capable of inflicting death or serious bodily injury but (I) closely resembles such an instrument; or (II) the defendant used the object in a manner that created the impression that the object was such an instrument (e.g. a defendant wrapped a hand in a towel during a bank robbery to create the appearance of a gun).".

Section 2A3.1(b)(1) is amended by striking "(including, but not limited to, the use or display of any dangerous weapon)".

The Commentary to §2A3.1 captioned "Application Notes" is amended in Note 1 by striking "where any dangerous weapon was used," and inserting "if any dangerous weapon was used or"; and by striking ", or displayed to intimidate the victim".

Section 2B3.1(b)(2) is amended by striking "displayed," each place it appears.

The Commentary to §2B3.1 captioned "Application Notes" is amended by striking Note 2 in its entirety and inserting the following:

"2. Consistent with Application Note 1(d)(ii) of §1B1.1 (Application Instructions), an object shall be considered to be a dangerous weapon for purposes of subsection (b)(2)(E) if (A) the object closely resembles an instrument capable of inflicting death or serious bodily injury; or (B) the defendant used the object in a manner that created the impression that the object was an instrument capable of inflicting death or serious bodily injury (e.g., a defendant wrapped a hand in a towel during a bank robbery to create the appearance of a gun).".

Section 2B3.2(b)(3) is amended by striking "displayed," each place it appears.

Section 2E2.1(b)(1)(C) is amended by striking ", displayed".

Reason for Amendment: This amendment conforms the guideline definition of "brandish" found at Application Note 1(c) of §1B1.1 (Application Instructions) to a statutory definition, which was added by the Act to Throttle the Criminal Use of Guns, Pub. L. 105–386, and is codified at 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(4). The purposes of this amendment are to (1) avoid confusion that can be caused by different guideline and statutory definitions of identical terms; and (2) increase punishment in some circumstances for persons who "make the presence of the weapon known to another person, in order to intimidate that person," regardless of whether the weapon is visible. As was the case prior to this amendment, the guideline definition of "brandish" applies to all dangerous weapons and not only to firearms.

The definition of "dangerous weapon" in Application Note 1(d) of §1B1.1 also is amended to clarify under what circumstances an object that is not an actual, dangerous weapon should be treated as one for purposes of guideline application. The amendment is in accord with the decisions in United States v. Shores, 966 F.2d 1383 (11th Cir. 1992) (toy gun carried but never used by a defendant qualifies as a dangerous weapon because of its potential, if it were used, to arouse fear in victims and dangerous reactions by police or security personnel) and United States v. Dixon, 982 F.2d 116 (3rd Cir. 1992) (hand wrapped in a towel qualifies as a dangerous weapon if the defendant’s actions created the impression that the defendant possessed a dangerous weapon).

The amendment also deletes the term "displayed" wherever it appears in the Guidelines Manual in an enhancement with "brandished." Because "brandished" applies in any case in which "all or part of the weapon was displayed," the Commission determined the inclusion of "displayed" in these enhancements is redundant. This part of the amendment is not intended to make a substantive change in the guidelines.

Effective Date: The effective date of this amendment is November 1, 2000.