United States v. Gonzalez
United States v. Gonzalez
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM
After being convicted by a jury for being a felon in possession of a firearm, Defendant-Appellant Noe Gonzalez appeals his conviction and sentence. We affirm Gonzalez’s conviction but vacate his sentence pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P. 32. We remand to the district court for re-sentencing on Rule 32 grounds only.
In addition, even if the district court had erred in excluding the witness’s reputation testimony, the alleged error did not prejudice Gonzalez. See Defenders of Wildlife v. Bernal, 204 F.3d 920, 927-28 (9th Cir. 2000) (noting that to reverse on the basis of an erroneous evidentiary ruling, the error must be prejudicial).
Gonzalez also raises two sentencing challenges. First, he argues that the district court violated Rule 32 by not expressly ruling on the disputed factual issue of whether he is a gang member. The government conceded that a limited remand is appropriate on this issue. We agree, and accordingly, vacate Gonzalez’s sentence and remand to the district court for resentencing on Rule 32 grounds. See United States v. Thomas, 355 F.3d 1191, 1200 (9th Cir. 2004).
Because we vacate Gonzalez’s sentence pursuant to Rule 32, we need not reach Gonzalez’s second sentencing challenge, in which he argues that the district court violated his due process rights by imposing upon him “unconstitutionally vague and overbroad” conditions of supervised release. We note in passing, however, that Condition Eight’s reference to “disruptive group” appears to be vague and open-ended,
AFFIRMED IN PART; VACATED IN PART; REMANDED WITH
INSTRUCTIONS.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
. During oral argument, the government acknowledged that the phrase “disruptive group” may be "over vague or overbroad” and has been recognized as such by this circuit. See United States v. Coleman, 224 Fed. Appx. 642, 644 (9th Cir. 2007) (unpublished disposition) (remanding to the district court with instructions to "delete the phrase ‘or disruptive group’ ” from the defendant’s supervised release conditions).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.