United States v. Huizar-Velazquez, No. 11-50237 (9th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseDefendant appealed his sentence stemming from his conviction of importing wire hangers without paying the proper duties. The court concluded that the district court incorrectly applied U.S.S.G. 2C1.1 where defendant did not engage in "improper use of government influence," bribery, or extortion, nor did he conspire to do so. Instead, the district court should have applied U.S.S.G. 2T3.1 for evading import duties or restrictions. In regards to calculations for the amount of loss, the court did not resolve the question of which rates apply to which wire hangers, but left the question for the district court to decide on remand under the proper sentencing guideline.
Court Description: Criminal Law. Vacating a sentence imposed for importing wire hangers without paying the proper duties and remanding, the panel held that the district court erred by applying U.S.S.G. § 2C1.1 (bribery) rather than U.S.S.G. § 2T3.1 (smuggling). Regarding amount of loss, the panel left to the district court on remand the question of which duty rates apply to which hangers under the proper sentencing guideline. The panel emphasized that the district court cannot merely defer to the government expert witness’s calculation.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.