United States v. Gabriel Valenzuela-Sainz

356 F. App'x 948

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Decided: December 14, 2009
• Docket: 08-50561
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Gabriel Valenzuela-Sainz appeals from the 60-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for importation of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 952 and 960. Our jurisdiction is governed by 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we dismiss.

Valenzuela-Sainz contends the district court erred by failing to recommend him to the Bureau of Prisons’ (“BOP”) 500-hour residential treatment program for substance abuse. Authority to determine whether a prisoner enters a residential treatment program resides in the executive branch of the government and is delegated to the BOP. See 18 U.S.C. § 3621(b), (e); see also Downey v. Crabtree, 100 F.3d 662, 666 (9th Cir.1996) (“[The BOP] has broad discretion over the entire drug-treatment process within the federal corrections system, beginning with determining which inmates ever enter substance-abuse programs.”). Because eligibility and referral to the residential substance abuse treatment program is not within the district court’s authority, we have no jurisdiction to consider Valenzuela-Sainz’s claim on appeal.

DISMISSED.

** This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.