United States v. Manual Sanchez-Rojas
Opinion
Manuel Sanchez-Rojas pleaded guilty to unlawful reentry as a removed alien after an aggravated felony conviction in violation of
Sanchez-Rojas argues that the district court plainly erred in increasing his base offense level by eight under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(C). The enhancement was based on his previous burglary convictions in violation of California Penal Code § 459. Sanchez-Rojas argues that California burglary does not satisfy the Guidelines definition of "aggravated felony." For purposes of the enhancement, " 'aggravated felony' has the meaning given that term in section 101(a)(43) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (
Sanchez-Rojas argued on appeal that § 16(b) should be struck down as unconstitutionally vague under the Fifth Amendment's Due Process Clause. After his appeal was submitted to this panel, the Supreme Court declared § 16(b) void for vagueness.
Sessions v. Dimaya
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In
Beckles v United States
, --- U.S. ----,
Unlike the ACCA, ... the advisory Guidelines do not fix the permissible range of sentences. To the contrary, they merely guide the exercise of a court's discretion in choosing an appropriate sentence within the statutory range. Accordingly, the Guidelines are not subject to a vagueness challenge under the Due Process Clause.
Beckles
,
Sanchez-Rojas also argues that his sentence is substantively unreasonable because the district court failed to give adequate weight to his acceptance of responsibility, the nature of his current offense, his devotion to his family, and his minimal criminal history in the past eighteen years. The district court weighed those factors against Sanchez-Rojas's extensive criminal history, several deportations, and the fact that he threatened to shoot the law enforcement officers that arrested him. The court expressed "some concern that the advisory guideline range [was] not sufficient," but ultimately decided to impose a sentence at the top of the Guidelines range. In light of the district court's discretion "to weigh the § 3553(a) factors in each case and assign some factors greater weight than others in determining an appropriate sentence,"
United States v. Bridges
,
The sentence is affirmed.
The Honorable Leonard T. Strand, United States District Judge for the Northern District of Iowa.
After Sanchez-Rojas was sentenced, the U.S. Sentencing Commission amended U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2. See U.S.S.G. app. C, amend. 802. The Guidelines citations set forth in this opinion are from the 2015 U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual, which was used to determine Sanchez-Rojas's offense level.
The government concedes that Sanchez-Rojas's burglary convictions do not meet § 16(a)'s definition of "crime of violence."
See
Descamps v. United States
,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- UNITED STATES of America Plaintiff-Appellee v. Manuel SANCHEZ-ROJAS Defendant-Appellant
- Cited By
- 3 cases
- Status
- Published