Sentencing Guidelines » Chapter 3

U.S.S.G. § 3C1.2

Reckless Endangerment During Flight

Read at: USSCussc.gov CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

If the defendant recklessly created a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to another person in the course of fleeing from a law enforcement officer, increase by 2 levels.

 

Commentary

Application Notes:

1.      Do not apply this enhancement where the offense guideline in Chapter Two, or another adjustment in Chapter Three, results in an equivalent or greater increase in offense level solely on the basis of the same conduct.

2.      "Reckless" is defined in the Commentary to §2A1.4 (Involuntary Manslaughter).  For the purposes of this guideline, "reckless" means that the conduct was at least reckless and includes any higher level of culpability.

3.      "During flight" is to be construed broadly and includes preparation for flight.  Therefore, this adjustment also is applicable where the conduct occurs in the course of resisting arrest.

4.      "Another person" includes any person, except a participant in the offense who willingly participated in the flight.

5.      Under this section, the defendant is accountable for the defendant's own conduct and for conduct that the defendant aided or abetted, counseled, commanded, induced, procured, or willfully caused.

Historical Note:  Effective November 1, 1990 (amendment 347).  Amended effective November 1, 1991 (amendment 416); November 1, 1992 (amendment 457); November 1, 2010 (amendment 747); November 1, 2025 (amendment 836).


 

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 685 cases (135 in the last 5 years), 1991–2026 · leading case: United States v. Dylan Stanley, 754 F.3d 1353 (11th Cir. 2014).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
United States v. Dylan Stanley, 754 F.3d 1353 (11th Cir. 2014). · cites it 5× “2(c)(l) for assaulting a law enforcement officer and creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily harm during immediate flight as well as a two-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 3C1.2 for creating a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to another person…”
United States v. Simpson, 845 F.3d 1039 (10th Cir. 2017). · cites it 4× “Simpson contends that the district court erred in increasing the sentence based on Sentencing Guideline § 3C1.2, “Reckless Endangerment During Flight.”
United States v. Dial, 524 F.3d 783 (6th Cir. 2008). · cites it 10× “The presentence report indicated that the parties "agree[d] to disagree" as to whether a two-level enhancement should apply to Dial pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3C1.2 for reckless endangerment during flight.”
United States v. Carter, 601 F.3d 252 (4th Cir. 2010). · cites it 7× “OPINION HARWELL, District Judge: This case presents the question of whether a defendant’s sentence may be enhanced under U.S.S.G. § 3C1.2 for reckless endangerment during flight when the defendant enters the residence of another person without that other person’s permission.”
United States v. Carrell Johnson, 694 F.3d 1192 (11th Cir. 2012). · cites it 6× “In calculating Johnson’s Guidelines imprisonment range, the probation officer assessed a two-level enhancement for reckless endangerment during flight under U.S.S.G. § 3C1.2 (2010). The probation officer noted that Johnson and Pugh used a car to strike a police unit in order to…”
United States v. Singer, 825 F.3d 1151 (10th Cir. 2016). · cites it 9× “The PSR then applied a two-level enhancement pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3C1.2, noting that Singer “recklessly created a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to another person in the course of fleeing from a law enforcement officer.”
United States v. Wilken, 498 F.3d 1160 (10th Cir. 2007). · cites it 5× “The PSR adjusted this upwards by 2 levels under U.S.S.G. § 3C1.2 for obstruction of justice, citing the government’s allegation that, during the traffic stop prior to his arrest, Mr.”
United States v. Cook, 181 F.3d 1232 (11th Cir. 1999). · cites it 11× “Consistent with the recommendations in each of their Presentence Investigation Reports, the trial judge imposed the sentences upon them after applying a two-level enhancement for their reckless endangerment during flight pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3C1.2. Cook and Forthenberry…”
United States v. Rudolph Wilson, 392 F.3d 1243 (11th Cir. 2004). · cites it 8× “Wilson also challenges the district court’s two-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 3C1.2 for reckless endangerment during flight.”
United States v. Christopher Seals, 813 F.3d 1038 (7th Cir. 2016). · cites it 3× “The court imposed multiple sentencing enhancements, two of them related to the March 20, 2013 car chase: (1) a two-level enhancement for reckless endangerment during flight, U.S.S.G. § 3C1.2, and (2) a four-level enhancement for the use of a firearm (i.”
United States v. Calvin Matchett, 802 F.3d 1185 (11th Cir. 2015). · cites it 3× “2014), and a two-level enhancement for “recklessly creating] a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to another person in the course of fleeing from a law enforcement officer,” U.S.S.G. § 3C1.2. At sentencing, Matchett objected to both of these enhancements.”
United States v. Efrain Hernandez-Rodriguez, 975 F.2d 622 (9th Cir. 1992). · cites it 8× “Hernandez claims that the upward departure was impermissible because the district court also enhanced his sentence under U.S.S.G. § 3C1.2 for reckless endangerment of another person during flight from law enforcement officers.”
Show all 685 citing cases →
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.