Fuentes-Espinoza v. People

2017 CO 98, 408 P.3d 445
Supreme Court of Colorado·Decided October 10, 2017·No. Supreme Court Case 13SC128·Published·Cited by 15 cases

Opinions

JUSTICE GABRIEL

delivered the Opinion of the Court.*

¶1 In this case, petitioner Bernardino Fuentes-Espinoza challenges his convictions under Colorado’s human smuggling statute, section 18-13-128, C.R.S. (2017), on the ground that that statute is preempted by the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. §§ 1101-1537 (2017) (“INA”).1 The court of appeals division below did not consider Fuentes-Espinoza’s preemption argument because it was unpreserved. People v. Fuentes-Espinoza, 2013 COA 1, ¶ 16, — P.3d-. We, however, choose to exercise our discretion to review that argument and conclude that the INA preempts section 18-13-128 under the doctrines of both field and conflict preemption.

¶2 In reaching this conclusion, we agree with a number of federal circuit courts that have reviewed the same INA provisions at issue here and have determined that those provisions create a comprehensive framework to penalize the transportation, coneealment, and inducement of unlawfully present aliens and thus evince a congressional intent to occupy the field criminalizing such conduct. In addition, applying the analyses set forth in those federal decisions, we conclude that section 18-13-128, like the state human smuggling statutes at issue in the federal cases, stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of Congress’s purposes and objectives in enacting its comprehensive framework.

¶3 Accordingly, we reverse the division’s judgment and remand this case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

1. Facts and Procedural History

¶4 In 2007, Fuentes-Espinoza was walking along the Las Vegas Strip when an individual approached him and offered him $500 to drive several family members from Phoenix to Kansas. Fuentes-Espinoza accepted the offer, and he and a friend rode to Phoenix with the man who had made the offer. When the group arrived in Phoenix, Fuentes-Espinoza and his friend were dropped off at an apartment, where they waited for the man to return.

¶5 That evening, the man returned with a van full of people. The man gave Fuentes-Espinoza $600 in travel money, as well as a map that had the man’s telephone number on it. Fuentes-Espinoza, his friend, and the people in the van then set off on the trip to Kansas.

¶6 En route, Fuentes-Espinoza stopped at a gas station in Wheat Ridge, Colorado to get gas and to repair a broken taillight. As pertinent here, he went into the station to pay and gave the clerk a one-hundred-dollar bill, which apparently had been included in the travel money that Fuentes-Espinoza had received. The clerk determined that the bill was counterfeit and called the police.

¶7 An officer responded to the gas station, and as he approached, two individuals from the van took off running and, apparently, were not apprehended. The officer then arrived at the station, and after speaking with the clerk, he questioned Fuentes-Espinoza about the counterfeit bill and the people in the van. Fuentes-Espinoza told inconsistent stories about where he had obtained the counterfeit bill and where he was going, and the officer arrested him for passing the bill.

¶8 The officer then spoke with the people in the van and requested identification from them. After doing so, the officer spoke with his supervisor to report on his investigation and to get further instructions. The supervisor told the officer to bring the group to the police station, and the officer did so. The officer then called the human smuggling hotline, and the hotline sent representatives to the station to assist.

¶9 The People ultimately charged Fuentes-Espinoza with one count of forgery (for passing the counterfeit bill) and seven counts of human smuggling in violation of section 18-13-128.

¶10 Under section 18-13-128, a person commits a class 3 felony

if, for the purpose of assisting another person to enter, remain in, or travel through the United States or the state of Colorado in violation of immigration laws, he or she provides or agrees to provide transportation to that person in exchange for money or any other thing of value.

§ 18-13-128(1), (2). Class 3 felonies carry a presumptive sentencing range of four to twelve years’ imprisonment. § 18-1.3-401(l)(a)(V)(A), C.R.S. (2017).

¶11 The ease proceeded to trial, and a jury ultimately acquitted Fuentes-Espinoza of forgery but convicted him on each of the human smuggling counts. The court subsequently sentenced him to concurrent four-year terms on each of the seven counts.

¶12 Fuentes-Espinoza appealed, and as pertinent here, he argued for the first time that federal law preempts section 18-13-128. He further asserted that section 18-13-128 required the People to prove that the people he had transported were present in violation of the immigration laws. The division rejected both arguments and, in a split decision, affirmed Fuentes-Espinoza’s convictions. Fuentes-Espinoza, ¶¶ 2-3, 61.

¶13 Regarding the preemption issue, the majority concluded that Fuentes-Espinoza’s arguments were not properly before the court because Fuentes-Espinoza had not made those arguments before the trial court. Id. at ¶¶ 10-16.

¶14 Regarding the question of what section 18-13-128 required the People to prove, the majority noted that “by including the actor’s purpose as an element of the crime, [section 18-13-128] emphasizes the actor’s intent, rather than the outcome of his or her actions.” Id. at ¶ 30. Thus, in the majority’s view, the People were required to prove only that the actor had the purpose of assisting another person to enter, remain in, or travel through the United States or Colorado in violation of immigration laws, and not that the passengers allegedly being smuggled were actually present in the United States or Colorado in violation of those laws. Id. at ¶¶ 27, 39.

¶15 Judge Casebolt dissented. In his view, the division was required to address Fuentes-Espinoza’s preemption argument, regardless of whether it was properly preserved, because the argument implicated the court’s subject matter jurisdiction. Fuentes-Espinoza, ¶¶ 63-64 (Casebolt, J., dissenting). Alternatively, Judge Casebolt stated that he would review the unpreserved claim for plain error. Id. at ¶¶ 66-67.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Fuentes-Espinoza v. People, 2017 CO 98, 408 P.3d 445 (Colo. 2017).

2017 CO 98 (Fuentes-Espinoza v. People) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Peo v. McMurray
Colorado Court of Appeals, 2025
Bertoia v. Galaxy
2025 COA 55 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2025)
Peo v. Ryan
Colorado Court of Appeals, 2025
Anna Mercedez Gutierrez v. the State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2024
The State of Texas v. Isaias Burciaga
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2024
The State of Texas v. Rodney Ortiz
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2023
State v. Prieto-Lozoya
2021 NMCA 019 (New Mexico Court of Appeals, 2021)
Peo in Interest of E.Q
2020 COA 118 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2020)
v. Hernandez
2019 COA 111 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2019)
People in Interest of D.M
2019 COA 56 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2019)
Forfar v. Walmart
2018 COA 125 (Colorado Court of Appeals, 2018)
Fuentes-Espinoza v. People
2017 CO 98 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2017)