United States v. Jose Vargas-Soto

700 F.3d 180, 2012 WL 5240833, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 22113
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedOctober 24, 2012
Docket11-10835
StatusPublished
Cited by45 cases

This text of 700 F.3d 180 (United States v. Jose Vargas-Soto) 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
United States v. Jose Vargas-Soto, 700 F.3d 180, 2012 WL 5240833, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 22113 (5th Cir. 2012).

Opinion

LESLIE H. SOUTHWICK, Circuit Judge:

Jose Vargas-Soto challenges his sentence on appeal, which was calculated using an enhancement applicable to aggravated felonies. Vargas-Soto also appeals the district court’s upward departure from the Guidelines sentence for the crime of illegal reentry. We AFFIRM.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On April 20, 2011, Vargas-Soto pled guilty to one count of illegal reentry after deportation in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. Vargas-Soto’s Pre-sentence Investigative Report (“PSR”) calculated a final offense level of 21: a base level of 8 under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(a) (2010), a 16-level en *182 hancement for an aggravated felony conviction of manslaughter under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(l)(A), and a 3-level reduction for acceptance of responsibility under U.S.S.G. § 3El.l(b). After the other relevant calculations were made, for which no claim of error is alleged, a guidelines imprisonment range of 77 to 96 months was determined.

The PSR noted that an upward departure could be warranted pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 4A1.3(a) if the district court determined that Vargas-Soto’s criminal history category substantially under-represented the seriousness of his criminal history and the likelihood of recidivism; the PSR identified the lack of deterrence of past sentences of imprisonment and continued criminal activity. The district court overruled Vargas-Soto’s objection that an above-guidelines sentence would be greater than necessary to achieve the sentencing goals of Section 3553(a) and sentenced Vargas-Soto to 180 months imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release. Vargas-Soto timely appealed.

Vargas-Soto argues the district court’s adoption of a 16-level enhancement for his manslaughter conviction, a conviction that the district court treated as an aggravated felony, constituted plain error. Additionally, Vargas-Soto argues the sentence imposed by the district court is unreasonable and the district court abused its discretion in upwardly departing from the guidelines range for the crime of illegal reentry.

DISCUSSION

When a defendant fails to preserve an error by specific objection in the trial court, an appellate court reviews the district court’s legal conclusions for plain error. Puckett v. United States, 556 U.S. 129, 135, 129 S.Ct. 1423, 173 L.Ed.2d 266 (2009). Plain error review requires the defendant to demonstrate that (1) the district court erred, (2) the nature of the error was plain or obvious, and (3) the defendant suffered substantial prejudice. Id. If the court resolves these factors in the defendant’s favor, the court can correct the error “only if the error seriously affects the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings” or “in order to prevent a manifest miscarriage of justice.” Id. (internal quotations omitted); United States v. Chavez-Hernandez, 671 F.3d 494, 497 (5th Cir.2012).

A defendant need not show that the specific factual and legal scenario has been addressed but must at least show error in the “straightforward applications of case law.” United States v. Ellis, 564 F.3d 370, 377 (5th Cir.2009). By contrast, an error is not plain if it requires the extension of precedent. United States v. Trejo, 610 F.3d 308, 319 (5th Cir.2010).

A. Aggravated Felony Enhancement

Vargas-Soto revealed his understanding that the maximum penalty for the crime of illegal reentry is 20 years by signing a factual resume and by statements at his plea colloquy. The statutory maximum applies if a defendant was convicted of an aggravated felony, whereas a 10-year maximum applies for a conviction of a non-aggravated felony. 8 U.S.C. § 1326(b)(l)-(2). If Vargas-Soto was convicted of an aggravated felony, the district court’s sentence of 15 years imprisonment is valid.

Under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(F), an “aggravated felony” includes a “crime of violence” defined in 18 U.S.C. § 16 as

(a) an offense that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another, or
(b) any other offense that is a felony and that, by its nature, involves a sub *183 stantial risk that physical force against the person or property of another may be used in the course of committing the offense.

Vargas-Soto argues that the Texas manslaughter statute does not require a defendant use, attempt to use, or threaten to use physical force, making Section 16(a) inapplicable. See United States v. Gracia-Cantu, 302 F.3d 308, 311 (5th Cir.2002). He also argues Section 16(b) requires a substantial likelihood that a defendant will intentionally use force against another to commit the crime, as opposed to just a reckless use of force as in a manslaughter offense. See United States v. Chapa-Garza, 243 F.3d 921, 927 (5th Cir.2001). The State does not argue that Section 16(a) is applicable, but it does present an argument as to why Section 16(b) is applicable.

It is not necessary for us to resolve the dispute. Error that is plain will not require reversal unless the defendant’s substantial rights were affected. We must be shown “a probability sufficient to undermine confidence in the outcome” that but for the erroneous categorization of manslaughter as a crime of violence, Vargas-Soto would have received a lesser sentence. United States v. Infante, 404 F.3d 376, 395 (5th Cir.2005). That probability does not exist here because Vargas-Soto was also convicted of another crime arising out of the same incident, that is an aggravated felony: evading arrest using a motor vehicle.

Neither the PSR nor the district court specifically relied on the evading-arrest conviction. To evaluate that offense, we granted the government’s unopposed motion to supplement the record with the state-court records that are appropriate for us to consider: the charging instrument, judicial confession, and judgment relating to the conviction. See United States v. Martinez-Vega, 471 F.3d 559, 561 (5th Cir.2006).

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Bluebook (online)
700 F.3d 180, 2012 WL 5240833, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 22113, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-jose-vargas-soto-ca5-2012.