United States v. Valenzuela

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

United States v. Valenzuela

Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS NOV 27 2024 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 24-2618 D.C. No. Plaintiff - Appellee, 2:23-cr-01171-SMB-1 v. MEMORANDUM* STEVEN ZACK VALENZUELA,

Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Arizona Susan M. Brnovich, District Judge, Presiding

Submitted November 20, 2024 **

Before: CANBY, TALLMAN, and CLIFTON, Circuit Judges.

Steven Zack Valenzuela appeals from the district court’s judgment and

challenges his guilty-plea conviction and 33-month sentence for transport of illegal

aliens, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(ii) and (a)(1)(B)(ii). Pursuant to

Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), Valenzuela’s counsel has filed a brief

* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). stating that there are no grounds for relief, along with a motion to withdraw as

counsel of record. We have provided Valenzuela the opportunity to file a pro se

supplemental brief. No pro se supplemental brief or answering brief has been

filed.

Valenzuela waived his right to appeal his conviction and sentence. Our

independent review of the record pursuant to Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 80

(1988), discloses no arguable issue as to the validity of the waiver. See United

States v. Watson, 582 F.3d 974, 986-88 (9th Cir. 2009). We accordingly dismiss

the appeal. See id. at 988. However, we remand the case to the district court with

instructions to amend the judgment to (1) replace the citation to 8 U.S.C.

§ 1324(a)(1)(A)(v)(I) with 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(ii), and (2) change the Bureau

of Prisons’s Register Number for Valenzuela to 97352-408.

Counsel’s motion to withdraw is GRANTED.

DISMISSED; REMANDED to correct the judgment.

2 24-2618

Reference

Status
Unpublished