Hector Rodriguez Zuniga v. Eric Holder, Jr.

444 F. App'x 763
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedOctober 7, 2011
Docket10-60855
StatusUnpublished

This text of 444 F. App'x 763 (Hector Rodriguez Zuniga v. Eric Holder, Jr.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hector Rodriguez Zuniga v. Eric Holder, Jr., 444 F. App'x 763 (5th Cir. 2011).

Opinion

PER CURIAM * :

Hector Alejandro Rodriguez Zuniga, a lawful permanent resident, pleaded guilty to “theft and unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle” in violation of California Vehicle Code § 10851(a). 1 Holding that a violation of section 10851(a) is an aggravated felony theft offense that rendered him deportable under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii), the immigration judge ordered Zuniga removed to Mexico. We AFFIRM.

I.

Zuniga pleaded guilty to count four of the California state court felony complaint against him, which alleged that he:

committed a violation of Vehicle Code section 10851, subdivision (a), a Felony, in that on or about November 9, 2001, in the County of Riverside, State of California, he did willfully and unlawfully drive or take a certain vehicle, to wit, a 1980 TOYOTA COROLLA, LICENSE NO 3TLR110, the property of another, without the consent of and with the intent to deprive the owner of title to and possession of said vehicle.

Zuniga was originally sentenced to 150 days in jail, as well as thirty-six months of probation; later, upon violating his probation, he was sentenced to an additional 240 days in jail, for a total of 390 days.

Based on his conviction, the Department of Homeland Security began removal proceedings against Zuniga, offering in support a certified copy of the felony complaint and the minute order. The immigration judge (IJ) determined that Zu-niga’s conviction categorically qualified under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii), which provides that “[a]ny alien who is convicted of an aggravated felony at any time after admission is deportable.” “Aggravated felony” includes “a theft offense (including receipt of stolen property) or burglary offense for which the term of imprisonment at least one year.” 2 8 U.S.C. *765 § 1101(a)(43)(G). Although Zuniga argued that he could have been convicted under the California statute as an accessory after the fact, which would not be a theft offense, the IJ found that the complaint did not include any allegations to that effect and did not charge any co-defendants. The IJ held that clear-and-convincing evidence established that Zuni-ga had committed the aggravated felony of theft. As such, the IJ ordered Zuniga removed to Mexico.

Zuniga appealed the district court’s order to the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA), making two arguments. First, he argued that section 10851(a) does not categorically qualify as a theft offense because the language of the California statute could extend criminal liability to an accessory after the fact. Second, he argued that, under the modified categorical approach, the evidence is insufficient to prove that Zuniga was convicted of a theft offense and not as an accessory after the fact. The BIA affirmed and adopted the IJ’s decision, noting that Zuniga’s arguments were precluded by its precedent. Zuniga filed a timely petition for review, raising the same arguments before this court.

II.

Although this court does not have jurisdiction to review the decision of the BIA if Zuniga’s crime was an aggravated felony, 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(2)(C), we do have jurisdiction “to determine our own jurisdiction, ie., to determine whether the conviction qualifies as an aggravated felony.” Omari v. Gonzales, 419 F.3d 303, 306 (5th Cir.2005). In determining whether a prior conviction falls within a provision of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), we “accord substantial deference to the BIA’s interpretation of the INA” itself and definitions of phrases within it. Smalley v. Ashcroft, 354 F.3d 332, 335-36 (5th Cir.2003). We review de novo whether the state statute under which Zuniga was convicted is an aggravated felony. Omari, 419 F.3d at 306.

III.

The government first asks us to hold that section 10851(a) categorically falls within the generic definition of “theft offense.” This court uses “the modern, generic, and broad definition of the entire phrase ‘theft offense (including receipt of stolen property),”’ which is “a taking of property or an exercise of control over property without consent with the criminal intent to deprive the owner of rights and benefits of ownership, even if such deprivation is less than total or permanent.” Burke v. Mukasey, 509 F.3d 695, 696-97 (5th Cir.2007). According to the statute, “theft offense” also includes “receipt of stolen property.” 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(G). In deciding this issue, “we employ a categorical approach in which we look at the statute under which the alien was convicted rather than at the particular underlying facts.” Omari, 419 F.3d at 307. “It requires a realistic probability, not a theoretical possibility, that the State would apply its statute to conduct that falls outside the generic definition of a crime.” Gonzales v. Duenas-Alvarez, 549 U.S. 183, 193, 127 S.Ct. 815, 166 L.Ed.2d 683 (2007). Zuniga must point to cases in which the state courts have in fact used section 10851(a) to convict an accessory after the fact. Id.

To succeed, Zuniga must demonstrate “something special about California’s version of the doctrine — for example, that California in applying it criminalizes conduct that most other States would not consider ‘theft.’ ” Id. at 191,127 S.Ct. 815. Here, the statute by its own terms applies to “any person who is a party or an accessory to or an accomplice in the driving or unauthorized taking or stealing.” Cal. Veh.Code § 10851(a). The BIA has held that “the full range of the conduct de *766 scribed in section 10851(a) squarely places that conduct within the ambit of ‘theft offense,’ as that term is employed in section [1101(a)(43)(G) ].” In re V-Z-S-, 22 I. & N. Dec. 1338, 1350 (BIA 2000). The Ninth Circuit, on the other hand, has held that a conviction under section 10851(a) could be broader than the generic theft offense. United States v. Vidal, 504 F.3d 1072, 1074-75 (9th Cir.2007) (en banc). It held that the statute was therefore divisible, allowing conviction of a defendant as either a principal or an accessory after the fact. Id.

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Related

Omari v. Gonzales
419 F.3d 303 (Fifth Circuit, 2005)
Burke v. Mukasey
509 F.3d 695 (Fifth Circuit, 2007)
Gonzales v. Duenas-Alvarez
549 U.S. 183 (Supreme Court, 2007)
NOLOS v. Holder
611 F.3d 279 (Fifth Circuit, 2010)
Ian Smalley v. John Ashcroft, Attorney General
354 F.3d 332 (Fifth Circuit, 2003)
Arteaga v. Mukasey
511 F.3d 940 (Ninth Circuit, 2007)
United States v. Vidal
504 F.3d 1072 (Ninth Circuit, 2007)
V-Z-S
22 I. & N. Dec. 1338 (Board of Immigration Appeals, 2000)

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444 F. App'x 763, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hector-rodriguez-zuniga-v-eric-holder-jr-ca5-2011.