United States v. Lopez-DeLeon

513 F.3d 472, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 432, 2008 WL 82521
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedJanuary 9, 2008
Docket06-41553
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 513 F.3d 472 (United States v. Lopez-DeLeon) 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. Lopez-DeLeon, 513 F.3d 472, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 432, 2008 WL 82521 (5th Cir. 2008).

Opinion

DeMOSS, Circuit Judge:

Appellant Vinicio Cruz Lopez-DeLeon (Lopez) appeals his forty-six month sentence, imposed after he pleaded guilty to illegal reentry in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a). Over Lopez’s objection, the district court enhanced his base offense level by sixteen levels, holding that Lopez’s prior California conviction for sexual intercourse with a minor was a “crime of violence” within § 2L1.2(b)(l)(A)(ii) of the United States Sentencing Guidelines (U.S.S.G.). We find that Lopez’s prior conviction qualifies as a crime of violence and affirm the decision of the district court.

I. BACKGROUND

On August 25, 1997, Lopez pleaded no contest in a California state court to one count of “sexual intercourse with a minor” in violation of California Penal Code § 261.5(c) (hereinafter § 261.5(c)), and one count of “lewd act with a child under the age of 14” in violation of California Penal Code § 288(a) (hereinafter § 288(a)). On December 16, 1997, a California court sentenced Lopez to one year in prison and three years probation based on his violation of § 261.5(c). The court ordered Lopez to return one year later, on December 16,1998, to be sentenced on his violation of § 288(a), at which time he would be allowed to make a motion to withdraw his plea to this charge. However, Lopez was deported on July 14,1998, and thus did not appear for his scheduled sentencing on December 16,1998.

On May 23, 2006, Lopez was arrested near Mission, Texas. Lopez pleaded guilty to illegal reentry, reserving his right to appeal his sentence. At sentencing the district court found that Lopez’s prior conviction for § 261.5(e) was a “crime of violence” pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(l)(A)(ii), and applied a sixteen level sentencing enhancement. 1 The district court ultimately calculated a sentencing guidelines range of forty-six to fifty-seven months of imprisonment, and Lopez was sentenced to forty-six months and a two-year term of supervised release. Lopez timely filed his notice of appeal on October 6, 2006.

On appeal, Lopez argues that: (1) his California conviction for “sexual intercourse with a minor” does not constitute a “crime of violence” pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(l)(A)(ii); (2) the felony and aggravated felony provisions of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) are unconstitutional in light of Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348,147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000); and (3) the presumption of reasonableness applied by the Fifth Circuit to a properly calculated Guidelines Sentence is unconstitutional.

II. DISCUSSION

A. California Penal Code § 261.5(c)

The district court’s characterization of Lopez’s prior conviction as a crime of violence is a question of law that is reviewed de novo. See United States v. Izaguirre-Flores, 405 F.3d 270, 272 (5th Cir.2005).

Section 2L1.2 of the Sentencing Guidelines increases the base offense level for unlawfully entering or remaining in the United States by sixteen levels if the defendant has a prior conviction for a “crime *474 of violence.” U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(l)(A)(ii). The applicable commentary to the Guidelines provides:

“Crime of violence” means any of the following: murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, aggravated assault, forcible sex offenses, statutory rape, sexual abuse of a minor, robbery, arson, extortion, extortionate extension of credit, burglary of a dwelling, or any offense under federal, state, or local law that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another.

Id. at cmt. n.l (B)(iii). The Government contends that Lopez’s prior conviction constitutes an enumerated “crime of violence” offense, namely, “sexual abuse of a minor” and “statutory rape.” Lopez does not dispute that he engaged in sexual intercourse with the victim; rather, Lopez argues that the definition of “minor” pursuant to § 261.5(c) is over broad because it criminalizes some conduct that would not be criminalized under the generic definition of statutory rape, and thus his prior conviction does not qualify as a crime of violence.

Whether a prior conviction qualifies as an enumerated “crime of violence” requires an examination of the “generic, contemporary meaning” of the offense and a comparison to the actual statute of conviction. See United States v. Murillo-Lopez, 444 F.3d 337, 339 (5th Cir.2006). This court applies a “common sense approach” to determine how an enumerated offense “is understood in its ordinary, contemporary, [and] common meaning.” Id. (internal quotations omitted). Under the common sense approach, we must determine whether a violation of § 261.5(c) constitutes the enumerated offense of “statutory rape” as that phrase is understood in its ordinary, contemporary, and common meaning, by reviewing the Model Penal Code (MPC), treatises, modern state codes, and dictionaries. 2 See United States v. Fierro-Reyna, 466 F.3d 324, 327 (5th Cir.2006); see also Izaguirre-Flores, 405 F.3d at 275.

Statutory rape laws define the age below which a person is legally incapable of consenting to sexual activity. The MPC defines statutory rape as a person who has sexual intercourse with someone not their spouse if “the other person is less than 16 years old and the actor is at least four years older than the other person.” Model Penal Code § 213.3(l)(a) (2001). A majority of jurisdictions set the age of consent at sixteen in their statutory rape law or its equivalent. 3 Federal law also *475 sets the age of consent at sixteen. 18 U.S.C. § 2243(a) (2006) (federal law is violated when a defendant knowingly engages in “a sexual act with another person who (1) has attained the age of 12 years but has not attained the age of 16 years; and (2) is at least four years younger than the person so engaging”)- Finally, Black’s Law Dictionary defines “statutory rape” as “[u]nlawful sexual intercourse with a person under the age of consent (as defined by statute), regardless of whether it is against that person’s will.” Black's Law Dictionary 1288 (8th ed. 2004). The operative term, “age of consent,” is defined as “[t]he age, usually defined by statute as 16 years, at which a person is legally capable of agreeing to marriage (without parental consent) or to sexual intercourse.” Id. at 66.

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Bluebook (online)
513 F.3d 472, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 432, 2008 WL 82521, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-lopez-deleon-ca5-2008.