United States v. Guillen-Cervantes, No. 12-10255 (9th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CaseDefendants Guillen-Cervantes and Castillo were convicted of conspiring to transport and harbor illegal aliens. On appeal, Castillo challenged her forfeiture judgment, contending that it violated her due process rights under the Fifth Amendment because she was unable to seek contribution from other members of the conspiracy. The court held that Castillo possessed no right to contribution under existing federal law. The court rejected Castillo's request that the court find an implied right under 18 U.S.C. 982 or forge a new right to contribution in this case, and to hold that the deprivation of that right as a consequence of her forfeiture order violated her Fifth Amendment guarantee to due process. Therefore, the court concluded that Castillo's due process claim failed because she could not demonstrate a constitutionally protected liberty or property interest of which she has been deprived. Accordingly, the court affirmed the forfeiture judgment against Castillo.
Court Description: Criminal Law. The panel affirmed a criminal forfeiture judgment entered pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 982(a)(6)(A) in a case in which Betty Castillo, who was convicted of conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens, contended that the forfeiture judgment violates her due process rights under the Fifth Amendment because she is unable to seek contribution from other members of the conspiracy. The panel declined to find an implied right to contribution under 18 U.S.C. § 982 or to fashion a new right to contribution as a matter of federal common law. The panel therefore rejected Castillo’s due process claim because she can point to no constitutionally protected liberty or property interest of which she has been deprived.
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