United States v. Dailey, No. 18-10134 (9th Cir. 2019)
Annotate this CaseThe Ninth Circuit dismissed defendant's appeal of the district court's order imposing a probation condition requiring her to register as a sex offender pursuant to the Sex Offender Notification and Registration Act (SORNA). The panel held that the text and structure of SORNA's residual clause make it clear the clause requires the application of a noncategorical approach to determine whether a conviction is for an offense involving "any conduct that by its nature is a sex offense against a minor." In this case, the record supported the district court's determination that defendant committed a "sex offense" as defined by SORNA and thus she was required to register as a sex offender under that law. The panel stated that defendant had adequate notice; the district court did not delegate the Article III judicial power in imposing the sentence; her sentence was legally imposed; and the appellate waiver in her plea agreement was enforceable.
Court Description: Criminal Law. The panel dismissed an appeal from the district court’s imposition of a probation condition requiring the defendant to register as a sex offender pursuant to the Sex Offender Notification and Registration Act, in a case in which the defendant pleaded guilty to violating the Travel Act based on an incident in which she transported a minor across state lines for the purpose of having the minor engage in prostitution. Because the text and structure of SORNA’s residual clause make it clear the clause requires the application of a non-categorical approach to determine whether a conviction is for an offense involving “any conduct that by its nature is a sex offense against a minor,” the panel concluded that Department of Justice guidelines interpreting the residual clause as requiring the categorical approach are not entitled to Chevron deference. Because the defendant’s plea agreement and plea colloquy each contained an admission that the victim was a juvenile, the panel, applying the non- categorical approach, held that it is clear that the defendant’s conviction was for an offense committed “against a minor.” Rejecting the defendant’s argument that there is no “sex offense” where the minor never completed an act of prostitution, the panel wrote that driving a minor to Las Vegas, buying her provocative clothing, instructing her on the unwritten rules of prostitution, and renting a hotel room, UNITED STATES V. DAILEY 3 all with the intent that the minor engage in acts of prostitution, certainly qualifies as “conduct that by its nature is a sex offense against a minor.” The panel concluded that the defendant is therefore required to register as a sex offender pursuant to SORNA. The panel rejected the defendant’s argument that she did not have adequate notice before sentencing that she would be required to register, and concluded that the district court did not delegate the Article III judicial power in imposing the sentence. Because the sentence was legally imposed, the panel concluded that the appellate waiver in the defendant’s plea agreement is enforceable, and dismissed the appeal.
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