Third Circuit Upholds Sentencing Commission's Definition of "Serious Bodily Injury" in Commentary to Aggravated Assault Guideline

In United States v. Caraballo, ---F. 4th---, 2023 WL 850448 (3d Cir. Dec. 8, 2023), the Third Circuit upheld the Sentencing Commission's definition of "serious bodily injury" in the commentary to USSG § 2A2.2, the guideline for aggravated assault.  The Court first found that the term "serious bodily injury" is genuinely ambiguous because the word "serious" has several potential meanings, each of which are reasonable.  The Court then found that the definition contained in the commentary—"an injury involving extreme physical pain or the protracted impairment of a function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty; or requiring intervention such as surgery, hospitalization, or physical rehabilitation"—is reasonable and therefore entitled to deference under Kisor v. Wilkie, 139 S. Ct. 2400 (2019) and United States v. Nasir, 17 F.4th 459 (3d Cir. 2021) (en banc).  Finally, the Court found that the District Court did not clearly err in finding serious bodily injury where the victim sustained three stab wounds and a broken jaw in the assault.

A copy of the opinion is available at: https://www2.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/221976p.pdf.