United States v. Orlando-Mena
Opinion of the Court
Defendant-Appellant Miguel OrlandoMena appeals from a judgment of the district court (Cote, J.) entered October 21, 2008, sentencing him principally to fifty-seven months’ imprisonment. OrlandoMena argues that the district court improperly included a prior Florida youthful offender adjudication in calculating his base offense level and criminal history categoiy points. We assume the parties’ familiarity with the facts and procedural history of the case.
The decision to include a youthful offender adjudication in a Sentencing Guidelines calculation is a question of law that we review de novo. See United States v. Matthews, 205 F.3d 544, 545 (2d Cir. 2000). Section 2L1.2 of the Sentencing Guidelines provides that the offense level for illegal reentry be increased by sixteen levels if the defendant was previously deported after “a conviction for a felony that is ... a crime of violence.” U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(l)(A)(ii). The test for whether a youthful offender adjudication qualifies as a “conviction” for purposes of the Sentencing Guidelines was set forth in United States v. Driskell, 277 F.3d 150 (2d Cir. 2002), and specifically applied to § 2L1.2 in United States v. Reinoso, 350 F.3d 51, 54 (2d Cir. 2003)
In this case, it is undisputed that Orlando-Mena was prosecuted as an adult in adult court in Florida. He was sentenced to four years’ incarceration and two years’ Community Control, and he served more than two years of his four year sentence. Nonetheless, he argues that his youthful offender adjudication does not qualify as a “conviction” under § 2L1.2 because, under Florida law, youthful offenders are required to be housed at separate institutions. Even assuming Orlando-Mena actually served his sentence in a youthful offender facility,
We have considered all of OrlandoMena’s other arguments and find them without merit. Therefore, for the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.
. Orlando-Mena specifically disclaims reliance on U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2, Application Note l(A)(iv), which provides that an offense committed before a defendant turned eighteen may not be used to enhance the base offense level “unless such conviction is classified as an adult conviction under the laws of the jurisdiction in which the defendant was convicted," because he was over eighteen at the time he committed the crimes in question here.
. Orlando-Mena does not argue that he was actually housed at such a facility. Indeed, the record does not indicate where OrlandoMena served his sentence.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- United States v. Miguel ORLANDO-MENA, also known as Miguel Mena, also known as Noel Mena
- Cited By
- 3 cases
- Status
- Published