United States v. Flores-Alcorta

998 F. Supp. 2d 537, 2014 WL 468842, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14487
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Texas
DecidedFebruary 5, 2014
DocketCriminal Action No. 4:13-CR-617
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 998 F. Supp. 2d 537 (United States v. Flores-Alcorta) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Flores-Alcorta, 998 F. Supp. 2d 537, 2014 WL 468842, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14487 (S.D. Tex. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

KEITH P. ELLISON, District Judge.

Defendant Rosendo Flores-Alcorta pled guilty to the charge of illegal re-entry of a previously deported alien after an aggravated felony conviction, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) and (b). The Presentence Investigation Report recommends adding sixteen points to the base offense level of eight due to Flores-Alcorta’s prior conviction for the manufacture and delivery of cocaine over 400 grams. (Doc. No. 19 at ¶ 16.) The United States Sentencing Guidelines (“Guidelines”) mandates a sixteen level enhancement if the defendant was previously convicted of a “drug trafficking offense,” for which the sentence [538]*538exceeded thirteen months. U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A). Flores-Alcorta objects that his prior conviction does not necessarily qualify as a “drug trafficking offense.” (Doc. No. 17.) The Court finds that Flores-Alcorta’s objection must be SUSTAINED.

I. LEGAL STANDARD

Under the “categorical approach,” the Court may look only to the elements of a prior conviction to determine whether it satisfies the requirements for a sentence enhancement. Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575, 600-02, 110 S.Ct. 2143, 109 L.Ed.2d 607 (1990); Descamps v. United States, — U.S. -, 133 S.Ct. 2276, 2281, 186 L.Ed.2d 438 (2013). The elements of the prior conviction must be “the same as, or narrower than, those of the generic offense,” the crime mandating a sentence enhancement. Descamps, 133 S.Ct. at 2281. A defendant’s prior conviction does not qualify for the sentence enhancement if it “sweeps more broadly than the generic crime ... even if the defendant actually committed the offense in its generic form.” Id. at 2283.

For example, the Armed Career Criminal Act (“ACCA”) mandates a sentence enhancement for certain federal defendants who have three prior convictions “for a violent felony,” including “burglary.” Taylor, 495 U.S. at 578, 110 S.Ct. 2143. The Supreme Court concluded that the basic elements of burglary, for the purposes of the sentence enhancement, were “unlawful or unprivileged entry into, or remaining in, a building or structure, with intent to commit a crime.” Id. at 599, 110 S.Ct. 2143. A conviction for burglary under California law requires only that a person “enter[]” certain locations “with intent to commit grand or petit larceny.” Descamps, 133 S.Ct. at 2282 (citing Cal.Penal Code § 459). The Supreme Court held that the California statute sweeps more broadly than the generic offense since the California statute does not require the entry to be “unlawful.” Id. at 2282, 2286. As such, the California statute could not serve as the basis for a sentence enhancement. Id. at 2293. “Whether [the defendant] did break and enter makes no difference.” Id. at 2286 (emphasis in original).

This categorical approach is modified slightly when the statute of conviction contains alternative elements. Descamps, 133 S.Ct. at 2281. When confronted with such a statute, the sentencing court can “consult a limited class of documents, such as indictments and jury instructions, to determine which alternative formed the basis of the defendant’s prior conviction.” Id. The Court can then proceed, as with the categorical approach, to compare the specific elements of the defendant’s prior conviction with the generic elements for the sentence enhancement. Id. at 2285. The focus of the Court’s inquiry remains on the elements of the prior conviction, rather than the facts of the crime. Id.

II. ANALYSIS

The question thus posed is whether the statutory elements of Flores-Alcorta’s conviction render it, categorically, a drug trafficking offense. See, e.g., United States v. Hernandez-De Aza, 536 Fed.Appx. 404, 407 (5th Cir.2013). Both parties agree that Flores-Alcorta’s prior conviction was for violation of Texas Health & Safety Code § 481.112(a). (Doc. No. 17 at 2; Doc. No. 18 at 1.) A violation of this section occurs when a “person knowingly manufactures, delivers, or possesses with intent to deliver a controlled substance listed in Penalty Group 1.” Tex. Health & Safety Code § 481.112(a). Flores-Alcorta’s indictment specifies that his conviction rests on the third of these alternatives— possession with intent to deliver. (Doc. No. 20.)

Deliver is defined as “transfer[ing], actually or constructively, to another a con[539]*539trolled substance ...” Tex. Health & Safety Code § 481.002(8). Texas law has clarified that “delivering ... is divided into three forms: administering, dispensing, and distributing.” Santoscoy v. State, 596 S.W.2d 896, 899 (Tex.Crim.App.1980).1 Possession with intent to deliver by any one of these three means supports a conviction under Section 481.112(a). See id. A defendant can therefore be convicted under Texas law for possession with intent to administer. Administer is defined as follows:

“Administer” means to directly apply a controlled substance by injection, inhalation, ingestion, or other means to the body of a patient or research subject by:
(A) a practitioner or an agent of the practitioner in the presence of the practitioner; or
(B) the patient or research subject at the direction and in the presence of a practitioner.

Tex. Health & Safety Code § 481.002(1).

The Guidelines define a “drug trafficking offense” as “an offense under federal, state, or local law that prohibits the manufacture, import, export, distribution, or dispensing of, or offer to sell a controlled substance (or a counterfeit substance) or the possession of a controlled substance (or a counterfeit substance) with intent to manufacture, import, export, distribute, or dispense.” U.S.S.G. 2L1.2, comment n. 1(B)(iv) (emphasis added). Critically, the statute does not include possession with intent to administer. Of the three forms of delivery mentioned above, the Guidelines include only distribution and dispensation.

“Administering” appears by incorporation in the federal definition of “dispensing.” Specifically:

The term “dispense” means to deliver a controlled substance to an ultimate user or research subject by, or pursuant to the lawful order of, a practitioner, including the prescribing and administering of a controlled substance and the packaging, labeling or compounding necessary to prepare the substance for such delivery.

21 U.S.C. § 802(10) (emphasis added). Under this definition, however, the administration of a controlled substance must be “by, or pursuant to the lawful order of, a practitioner.” Id. This limitation renders the generic offense narrower than the Texas offense.

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Bluebook (online)
998 F. Supp. 2d 537, 2014 WL 468842, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14487, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-flores-alcorta-txsd-2014.