United States v. Mejia

559 F.3d 1113, 2009 D.A.R. 4429, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 6077
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedMarch 24, 2009
Docket06-50220
StatusPublished
Cited by55 cases

This text of 559 F.3d 1113 (United States v. Mejia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Ninth 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. Mejia, 559 F.3d 1113, 2009 D.A.R. 4429, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 6077 (9th Cir. 2009).

Opinion

TROTT, Circuit Judge:

Edwin Mejia challenges both his conviction and his sentence of 188 months imprisonment plus five years supervised release for possession and distribution of methamphetamine. Mejia asserts (1) he was entrapped into selling methamphetamine, (2) his statement was taken in violation of Miranda, and (3) his due process rights were violated because he was shackled during trial. Also, Mejia appeals his sentence on the grounds that the district court failed to consider the factors set forth under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) and his requests for downward departures in reference to § 3553(a). Additionally, Mejia argues he (1) should have received a two-point reduction for acceptance of responsibility, and (2) should not have received one criminal history point for a misdemeanor conviction for resisting arrest.

We have jurisdiction over this timely appeal, and we affirm the judgment of conviction, but remand for resentencing. Given this result, we first address the calculation of Mejia’s criminal history involving his prior misdemeanor conviction.

A. Criminal History

Mejia disputes the assignment of one criminal history point to him for his prior conviction for resisting arrest. Because this issue was not raised in the district court, to warrant relief the error must constitute plain error. See United States v. Ameline, 409 F.3d 1073, 1078 (9th Cir.2005). Plain error is “(1) error, (2) that is plain, and (3) that affects substantial rights.” United States v. Cotton, 535 U.S. 625, 631, 122 S.Ct. 1781, 152 L.Ed.2d 860 (2002) (citation, alteration and internal quotation marks omitted). An error is plain if it is “contrary to the law at the time of appeal.... ” Johnson v. United States, 520 U.S. 461, 468, 117 S.Ct. 1544, 137 L.Ed.2d 718 (1997).

We held in a case decided en banc after Mejia was sentenced that “a partially suspended sentence for a misdemeanor listed in [U.S.S.G.] § 4A1.2(c)(l) counts only if the nonsuspended portion of the sentence is at least thirty days.” United States v. Gonzales, 506 F.3d 940, 945 (9th Cir.2007) (en banc). Resisting arrest is a misdemeanor listed in § 4A1.2(c)(l).

On October 27, 1997, imposition of Mejia’s sentence for resisting arrest was sus *1116 pended and he was placed on two years summary probation. This was conditioned on spending 16 days in county jail, for which Mejia was given credit for time already served. Three days later, on October 30, 1997, his probation was terminated. Seventeen days later, because probation had been terminated thirteen days earlier, “proceedings” against Mejia were terminated.

Section 4A1.2(c)(l)(A) reads as follows: “(1) Sentences for the following prior offenses ... by whatever name ..., are counted only if (A) the sentence was a term of probation of at least one year or a term of imprisonment of at least thirty days.” (emphasis added).

There are two clauses in this sentence, the first involving a “term of probation,” the second a “term of imprisonment.” Gonzales held that the words “term of imprisonment” means a “term of actual confinement.” Gonzales, 506 F.3d at 944, n. 2. Pursuant to Gonzales, because Mejia served a term of imprisonment of less than 30 days, clause two would exclude this misdemeanor from the calculation.

At this point, clause one comes into play, because Mejia, unlike Gonzales, was sentenced to a term of probation of more than one year — two to be precise. However, imposition of this sentence was “suspended” when it was pronounced, and his probation was terminated three days later.

Although our en banc opinion in Gonzales is not exactly on point, its analysis is manifestly appropriate here, because suspension of Mejia’s probationary sentence combined with his actual service of only a three-day probationary term was less than the one year required by § 4A1.2(c)(l)(A) for inclusion in his criminal history. Just as a “term of imprisonment” means “a term of actual confinement,” Gonzales, 506 F.3d at 944, n. 2, a term of probation means a term of actual probation. Here, the suspension of Mejia’s sentence before he was placed on a truncated term of probation indicates that the offense of which he was convicted was not regarded as serious.

Accordingly, we determine as the law now stands at the time of his appeal that the assignment of one criminal history point to him for his prior conviction for resisting arrest was “plain error.”

This error affected Mejia’s substantial rights. The district court imposed a low-end Guidelines sentence of 188 months imprisonment reflecting a base offense level of 34 and a criminal history category of III. Excluding the criminal history point for Mejia’s resisting arrest conviction, the sentence must be calculated to reflect a criminal history category of II. This would decrease the recommended Guideline sentence from a range of 188-235 months to 168-210 months. If the district court chooses to follow a low-end Guidelines sentence in accordance with criminal history category II, Mejia’s sentence could be reduced by 20 months. In our view, this impacts Mejia’s substantial rights, and is thus, plain error.

B. Entrapment

When a defendant asserts an entrapment defense, the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was not entrapped by showing either: “(1) the defendant was predisposed to commit the crime before being contacted by government agents; or (2) the defendant was not induced by the government agents to commit the crime.” 9th Cir.Crim. Jury Instr. 6.2 (2003); see also United States v. Jones, 231 F.3d 508, 516 (9th Cir.2000).

Because this court resolves all matters of credibility in a manner supporting the verdicts, and because there was sufficient evidence for a reasonable jury to find either that Mejia was not induced by government agents or that he was predis *1117 posed to commit the crimes charged, we uphold the jury’s conclusion that Mejia was not entrapped.

C. Miranda Violation

1. Voluntariness of Mejia’s Statement

The voluntariness of a waiver depends on the absence of police overreaching. Colorado v. Connelly, 479 U.S. 157, 170, 107 S.Ct. 515, 93 L.Ed.2d 473 (1986). The physical condition of a defendant at the time of his arrest is an important factor in determining whether his subsequent confession was voluntary. See Greenwald v. Wisconsin,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
559 F.3d 1113, 2009 D.A.R. 4429, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 6077, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-mejia-ca9-2009.