United States v. Moreno-Mendoza

386 F. Supp. 3d 765
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Texas
DecidedMay 21, 2019
DocketEP-19-CR-778-DB
StatusPublished

This text of 386 F. Supp. 3d 765 (United States v. Moreno-Mendoza) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.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. Moreno-Mendoza, 386 F. Supp. 3d 765 (W.D. Tex. 2019).

Opinion

THE HONORABLE DAVID BRIONES, SENIOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

On this day, the Court considered Defendant Jorge Ivan Moreno-Mendoza's *767("Mr. Moreno-Mendoza") "Motion to Dismiss the Indictment" ("Motion"), filed in the above-captioned case on April 25, 2019. On May 6, 2019, the United States of America ("the Government") filed its "Response in Opposition to Defendant's Motion to Dismiss the Indictment" ("Response"). After due consideration, the Court is of the opinion that Mr. Moreno-Mendoza's Motion should be granted.

BACKGROUND

On March 20, 2019, a Grand Jury sitting in the Western District of Texas returned a single count Indictment ("Indictment"), which charges Mr. Moreno-Mendoza with an alleged illegal reentry into the United States in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a). Indictment, United States of America v. Jorge Ivan Moreno-Mendoza , (W.D. Tex. March 20, 2019), ECF No. 10. Specifically, the Indictment alleges that on or about February 21, 2019, Mr. Moreno-Mendoza, an undocumented immigrant who had previously been deported from the United States on or about October 16, 2018, was found in the United States again. Id.

On September 11, 2007, the Department of Homeland Security ("DHS") issued Mr. Moreno-Mendoza a Notice to Appear at an immigration hearing. Resp., ECF No. 21, at Ex. A. The Notice to Appear alleged he was subject to removal from the United States for being a noncitizen present in the United States without being admitted or paroled. Id. It also stated that Mr. Moreno-Mendoza was to appear before a United States Department of Justice immigration judge at a specified address. Id. But it did not indicate the date and time of that hearing. Id. Instead, the Notice to Appear indicated that the hearing would be on a date "to be set" and a time "to be set." Id. DHS filed the Notice to Appear with the immigration court. Id. at 2.

On September 13, 2007, Mr. Moreno-Mendoza signed a Stipulated Request for Order Waiver of Hearing Pursuant to 8 C.F.R. § 1003.14(a) ("Stipulated Request"). Id. at Ex. B. In this Stipulated Request, Mr. Moreno-Mendoza declined to apply for relief of removal accepted a written order for his removal as a final disposition, and waived appeal of the written order of removal from the United States. Id. Consequently, a Notice of Hearing was not issued and a hearing was never scheduled or held. Id. at 2. On September 20, 2007, he was removed from the United States to Mexico. Id. at Ex. D. This removal order is the underlying removal order of the instant Indictment after it was reinstated in April 2014 and October 2018. See id. at 3. Mr. Moreno-Mendoza's Motion seeks to dismiss this Indictment.

ANALYSIS

Mr. Moreno-Mendoza petitions the Court to dismiss the Indictment because the immigration court lacked subject matter jurisdiction to issue the original removal order after the Notice to Appear he received failed to include a date and time. Mot., ECF No. 18, at 1-3. Therefore, the removal was void and cannot form the basis for the current Indictment for illegal reentry as he was never "removed" as a matter of law. Id. at 1.

First, the Government argues that Mr. Moreno-Mendoza cannot meet any of the three § 1326(d) factors that a Defendant must satisfy to collaterally attack the validity of a prior removal. Resp., ECF No. 21, at 1. Second, the Government's Response takes issue with the definition of a Notice to Appear in U.S.C. § 1229(a)(1), as opposed to the regulatory definition in 8 C.F.R. § 1003.15, which does not require a date and time to be in a Notice to Appear. Id. at 5-6. Third, the Government argues that the "lawfulness or validity of a prior *768removal order is not an element of a § 1326 offense." Id. at 4. The Court disagrees with the Government for the following reasons.

1. A Valid Notice to Appear Must Include the Date and Time to Vest Jurisdiction in the Immigration Court.

According to a holistic analysis of the statutory and regulatory definitions of a Notice to Appear, as well as the Supreme Court's recent opinion in Pereira v. Sessions , the incomplete Notice to Appear did not vest jurisdiction, therefore Mr. Moreno-Mendoza's underlying removal was void. The Indictment for illegal re-entry should be dismissed.

a.

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Bluebook (online)
386 F. Supp. 3d 765, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-moreno-mendoza-txwd-2019.