United States v. Vasquez-Gonzalez, No. 15-10285 (9th Cir. 2018)
Annotate this CaseA conviction for assault with a deadly weapon or instrument other than a firearm or by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury under California Penal Code 245(a)(1), as it was written prior to its amendment in 2011, qualifies as a conviction for a crime of violence within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. 16(a). The Ninth Circuit affirmed defendant's conviction for illegal reentry and rejected his collateral attacks on his removal. The panel held that defendant's prior California conviction under section 245(a)(1) required an intentional use of force and was thus a crime of violence. The panel also held that, although the failure to inform defendant that his eligibility for relief could serve as a basis to collaterally attack a removal order, it was not plausible that he would have been granted relief at the time of his removal in this case.
Court Description: Criminal Law. The panel affirmed a conviction for illegal reentry in a case in which the defendant brought two collateral attacks on his underlying removal. The panel rejected the defendant’s contention that his removal was invalid because it was based on a conviction that was not a crime of violence within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 16. The panel held that assault with a deadly weapon or instrument other than a firearm or by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury under Calif. Penal Code § 245(a)(1), as it was written prior to its amendment in 2011, categorically qualifies as a conviction for a “crime of violence” within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 16(a). Rejecting the defendant’s argument that § 245(a)(1) can be satisfied by negligent conduct, the panel concluded that the California statute requires an intentional use of force. Because the defendant has not shown that it was plausible that he would have been granted discretionary relief from removal pursuant to Section 212(c) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, the panel rejected the defendant’s challenge to the validity of his removal based on the immigration judge’s failure to inform him of his eligibility for such discretionary relief at the time of his deportation. UNITED STATES V. VASQUEZ-GONZALEZ 3
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.