United States v. Valdavinos-Torres, No. 11-50529 (9th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CaseDefendant appealed his conviction for illegal reentry in violation of 8 U.S.C. 1326 and his sentence. The court held that the district court properly denied defendant's motion to dismiss the indictment; the district court properly determined that defendant's 2007 conviction for possession of methamphetamine for sale under Cal. Health & Safety Code 11378 was a drug trafficking offense under U.S.S.G. 2L1.2(b)(1)(A); and the district court's imposition of supervised release was reasonable.
Court Description: Criminal Law. The panel affirmed a conviction and sentence for illegal reentry in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326 in a case in which the defendant collaterally attacked the underlying removal order. The panel rejected the defendant’s arguments that his failure to exhaust his administrative remedies was excused. The panel held that under the modified categorical approach, the defendant’s predicate conviction for possession of methamphetamine for sale in violation of Cal. Health & Safety Code § 11378 qualifies as a drug trafficking offense under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(B), where the change of plea form, the minute entry of the plea colloquy, and the abstract of judgment all show that the defendant pleaded guilty to the § 11378 count charging possession for sale of methamphetamine. The panel held that the defendant was not denied his due process right to counsel during removal proceedings and that because he has not demonstrated a plausible claim for relief from the removal order, he was not prejudiced by any such denial. The panel held that the defendant’s § 11378 conviction is categorically a drug trafficking offense supporting a 16-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A), and that the conviction would also qualify for the enhancement under the modified categorical approach. The panel held that the district court’s imposition of supervised release is substantively reasonable, notwithstanding U.S.S.G. § 5D1.1(c) (2011) (providing that supervised release should not “ordinarily” be imposed in a case in which the defendant is a deportable alien who likely will be deported after imprisonment), where the district court gave a specific and particularized explanation that supervised release would provide an added measure of deterrence and protection based on the facts of this case.
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