State v. Gonzalez-Perez

997 So. 2d 1, 2008 WL 508677
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedFebruary 27, 2008
Docket2007 KA 1813
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 997 So. 2d 1 (State v. Gonzalez-Perez) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Gonzalez-Perez, 997 So. 2d 1, 2008 WL 508677 (La. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

997 So.2d 1 (2008)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Jesus GONZALEZ-PEREZ.

No. 2007 KA 1813.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, First Circuit.

February 27, 2008.
Rehearing Denied January 6, 2009.

*2 Doug Moreau, District Attorney, Ron Gathe, Assistant District Attorney, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for Plaintiff/Appellee, State of Louisiana.

Frederick Kroenke, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for Defendant/Appellant, Jesus Gonzalez-Perez.

Before GAIDRY, McDONALD, and McCLENDON, JJ.

McCLENDON, J.

Defendant, Jesus Gonzalez-Perez, was charged by bill of information with operating a vehicle without lawful presence in the United States, a violation of LSA-R.S. 14:100.13. Defendant filed a motion to quash the bill of information, arguing LSA-R.S. 14:100.13 is not an enforceable statute, as it is preempted by federal law. Following a hearing, the trial court denied the motion to quash. Defendant withdrew his former plea and entered a plea of guilty as charged, reserving his right to appeal the trial court's ruling. Defendant was sentenced to six months imprisonment.[1] He now appeals, assigning error *3 as to the trial court's denial of the motion to quash. For the following reasons, we affirm the conviction and sentence.

FACTS

The following facts were presented as a basis for the guilty plea entered herein. On September 16, 2006, law enforcement officers on routine patrol noticed a white Dodge being operated by defendant on Airline Highway in Baton Rouge. The vehicle swerved from the centerline to the shoulder twice and then slowed down in the middle of the roadway. The officers conducted a traffic stop and asked defendant to exit the vehicle. Defendant indicated that he did not speak English. An officer, who was fluent in Spanish, read defendant his rights when defendant could not provide documentation proving that he was in this country legally.

ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR

In his sole assignment of error, defendant argues that Louisiana exceeded its grant of constitutional authority in enacting LSA-R.S. 14:100.13 and violated the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. Defendant contends that the statute in question departs from the federal scheme by requiring state and local law enforcement officials, who lack training in applying immigration law, to make independent determinations about a driver's immigration status. Defendant further contends that LSA-R.S. 14:100.13 conflicts with 8 U.S.C. § 1304(e) in that it targets a broader group and categorizes an individual's failure to carry documentation as a felony subject to harsher penalties. Defendant also alleges that LSA-R.S. 14:100.13 creates a new procedure for identifying individuals subject to removal and reporting them to federal authorities. He argues that this procedure interferes with federal methods by delegating to state and local enforcement officials, using state-designated criteria, tasks that federal law delegates exclusively to federal agents. Defendant concludes that LSA-R.S. 14:100.13 is preempted by federal law.

However, the state contends that LSA-R.S. 14:100.13 is not preempted by federal immigration law. The state specifically argues that the trial court was correct in finding that LSA-R.S. 14:100.13 is not preempted by the REAL ID Act of 2005, Pub.L. No. 109-13, Div. B, Title II, § 202, 119 Stat. 231, and that no deportation determination would be made pursuant to LSA-R.S. 14:100.13. The state contends that nothing in the REAL ID Act of 2005 expressly or impliedly prohibits a state from prosecuting a person for illegally driving a vehicle. The state further argues that federal immigration law does not prohibit a state from criminalizing conduct that a state believes to be a legitimate threat of terror.

The Supremacy Clause declares that federal law "shall be the supreme Law of the Land[.] . . . any Thing [sic] in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding." U.S. Const. art. VI, cl. 2. The Supremacy Clause requires invalidation of any state legislation that burdens or conflicts in any manner with any federal laws or treaties. Thus, the determination rests on whether the state law impermissibly interferes with federal law and is thus preempted. Pursuant to Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. *4 Constitution, federal law has exclusive jurisdiction to regulate matters of naturalization and immigration. Nonetheless, federal regulations do not automatically preempt every state enactment that in any way deals with aliens. See De Canas v. Bica, 424 U.S. 351, 355, 96 S.Ct. 933, 936, 47 L.Ed.2d 43(1976).

In De Canas, the Supreme Court set forth three tests to be used in determining whether a state statute related to immigration is preempted: (1) constitutional preemption, (2) field preemption, and (3) conflict preemption. Pursuant to De Canas, if a statute fails any one of the three tests, it is preempted by federal law. League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) v. Wilson, 908 F.Supp. 755, 768 (C.D.Cal.1995). The League case sets forth the following outline of the tests provided in De Canas:

Under the first test, the Court must determine whether a state statute is a "regulation of immigration." Since the "[p]ower to regulate immigration is unquestionably exclusively a federal power," [De Canas, 424 U.S.] at 354, 96 S.Ct. at 936, any state statute which regulates immigration is "constitutionally proscribed." [De Canas, 424 U.S.] at 356, 96 S.Ct at 936.
Under the second test, even if the state law is not an impermissible regulation of immigration, it may still be preempted if there is a showing that it was the "clear and manifest purpose of Congress" to effect a "complete ouster of state power-including state power to promulgate laws not in conflict with federal laws" with respect to the subject matter which the statute attempts to regulate. [De Canas, 424 U.S.] at 357, 96 S.Ct. at 937. In other words, under the second test, a statute is preempted where Congress intended to "occupy the field" which the statute attempts to regulate.
Under the third test, a state law is preempted if it "stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full purposes and objectives of Congress." [De Canas, 424 U.S.] at 363, 96 S.Ct. at 940 (citing Hines v. Davidowitz, 312 U.S. 52, 67, 61 S.Ct. 399, 404, 85 L.Ed. 581 (1941)). Stated differently, a statute is preempted under the third test if it conflicts with federal law making compliance with both state and federal law impossible. Michigan Canners & Freezers v. Agricultural Marketing and Bargaining Board, 467 U.S. 461, 469, 104 S.Ct. 2518, 2523, 81 L.Ed.2d 399 (1984); Florida Lime & Avocado Growers v. Paul, 373 U.S. 132, 142-43, 83 S.Ct. 1210, 1217-18, 10 L.Ed.2d 248 (1963).

The issue raised herein presents a question of law and is, therefore, subject to de novo review. State v. Smith, 99-2094, 99-2015, 99-2019, 99-0606, p. 3 (La.7/6/00), 766 So.2d 501, 504. In interpreting LSA-R.S.

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Bluebook (online)
997 So. 2d 1, 2008 WL 508677, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-gonzalez-perez-lactapp-2008.