United States v. Trujillo, No. 20-10679 (5th Cir. 2021)
Annotate this CaseThe Fifth Circuit held that Texas's intoxication manslaughter statute, Tex. Penal Code 49.08(a), does not constitute a "crime of violence" under 18 U.S.C. 16. Therefore, the court concluded that the district court erred when it convicted and sentenced defendant under 8 U.S.C. 1326(b)(2) based on his prior conviction under Texas Penal Code 49.08(a). Nonetheless, the court concluded that the error did not ultimately affect defendant's sentence because there is no indication anywhere in the record that the sentence imposed here was influenced in any way by an incorrect understanding of the statutory maximum sentence. Rather, defendant concedes that the district court entered a sentence within the Guidelines range, and below the statutory maximum of section 1326(b)(1). Moreover, the district court did not even cite section 1326(b)(2) in its sentencing decision. Accordingly, the court reformed the judgment to correct the error under section 1326(b)(2) and affirmed the sentence as reformed.
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