USA V. CLEMENTE HERNANDEZ-GARCIA, No. 20-50228 (9th Cir. 2022)
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Defendant was convicted for illegal reentry after removal in a case in which a Marine Corps surveillance unit spotted him immediately after he unlawfully entered the United States, and notified Customs and Border Patrol agents who soon detained him. Defendant argued that the Marine Corps surveillance violated the Posse Comitatus Act, which codified the longstanding prohibition against military enforcement of civilian law.
The Ninth Circuit affirmed Defendant’s conviction for illegal reentry after removal. The court reasoned that the military may still assist civilian law enforcement agencies if Congress expressly authorized it, and here, the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act directed the U.S. Secretary of Defense to offer military assistance to Border Patrol in hopes of securing the southern land border. The court concluded that the district court therefore properly denied Defendant's suppression motion based on the alleged violation of the Posse Comitatus Act. Further, the court also denied Defendant’s Batson challenge to the prosecution’s striking two Asian jurors from the venire, concluding that Defendant failed to rebut the prosecution’s race-neutral reasons for doing so.
Court Description: Criminal Law. The panel affirmed a conviction for illegal reentry after removal in a case in which a Marine Corps surveillance unit spotted the defendant immediately after he unlawfully entered the United States, and notified Customs and Border Patrol agents who soon detained him. The defendant argued that the Marine Corps surveillance violated the Posse Comitatus Act, which codified the longstanding prohibition against military enforcement of civilian law. Rejecting that argument, the panel explained that the military may still assist civilian law enforcement agencies if Congress expressly authorized it, and here, the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act directed the U.S. Secretary of Defense to offer military assistance to Border Patrol in hopes of securing the southern land border. The panel concluded that the district court therefore properly denied the defendant’s suppression motion based on the alleged violation of the Posse Comitatus Act. The panel also denied the defendant’s Batson challenge to the prosecution’s striking two Asian jurors from the venire, concluding that the defendant failed to rebut the prosecution’s race-neutral reasons for doing so. UNITED STATES V. HERNANDEZ-GARCIA 3
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on August 17, 2022.
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