United States v. Ramos-Medina

706 F.3d 932, 2013 WL 136032
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
DecidedJune 21, 2012
DocketNo. 09-50408
StatusPublished
Cited by47 cases

This text of 706 F.3d 932 (United States v. Ramos-Medina) 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. Ramos-Medina, 706 F.3d 932, 2013 WL 136032 (9th Cir. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER

This court’s opinion, filed June 21, 2012, is amended by inserting the words “first-degree” before “burglary” in the following places: on page 7304 of the slip opinion, in the second sentence of the first paragraph; on page 7305, in the third sentence of the second full paragraph; on page 7306, in the first sentence under the heading “A. Ramos’s Prior Deportation;” on page 7307, in the first sentence of the first full paragraph and in the first and second sentences of the last (partial) paragraph; on page 7308, in the first full sentence on the [934]*934page and the last sentence of the first full paragraph; on page 7309, in the first sentence on the page (where the words “The petitioner in” should not be italicized); on page 7310, in the first and second sentences of the first full paragraph; and on page 7312, in the first full sentence on the page (excluding the Taylor citation), beginning with the words “As described above”.

The opinion is also amended by inserting “first-degree” before “California” in the penultimate sentence in the first partial paragraph on page 7308, by inserting “for first-degree burglary” before “under § 459” in the last full sentence on page 7309, and by inserting “as defined by California Penal Code § 459” before “involves” in the last sentence (excluding the Id. citation) of the first full paragraph on page 7310.

The opinion is amended by the addition of the following new sentence at the end of footnote 2 on page 7306: < <If the burglar enters “an inhabited dwelling house, vessel, as defined in the Harbors and Navigation Code, which is inhabited and designed for habitation, floating home, as defined in subdivision (d) of Section 18075.55 of the Health and Safety Code, or trailer coach, as defined by the Vehicle Code, or the inhabited portion of any other building,” the burglary is “burglary of the first degree.” CaLPenal Code § 460. >

Finally, the opinion is amended by replacing the last two paragraphs, on pages 7316-17, with the following paragraph:

In this case, the district court did not make the same mistake of law. It noted the fact that “this case went to a full blown jury trial,” but it based its final decision on “the facts of this case and on this particular record” as a whole. This was the correct analytical approach. See Cortes, 299 F.3d at 1038.4 The district court’s ultimate decision that Petitioner had not adequately accepted responsibility was not clearly erroneous. “[A] defendant who ... frivolously contests[] relevant conduct that the court determines to be true has acted in ■ a manner inconsistent with acceptance of responsibility.” U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1 cmt. n. 1(A). Ramos contested the fact and validity of his deportation at trial. The district court asked Ramos’s counsel not to pursue this line of argument any further because it “r[an] afoul of the inlimine motion order with respect to the deportation order” and was not supported by any “offer of proof.” In addition, Ramos disputed during trial and in a motion for judgment of acquittal that he ever re-entered the United States. The court denied the motion, holding that “[t]he evidence is rather overwhelming that ... the defendant was detected and detained” in the United States. On this record, the district court did not clearly err in finding that Ramos’s actions were inconsistent with acceptance of responsibility. Accordingly, we affirm Ramos’s sentence.

Footnote 4 within that paragraph, following the citation “See Cortes, 299 F.3d at 1038.” is as follows:

Under this approach, a district court may deny the reduction after “balancfing] all the relevant factors,” Cortes, 299 F.3d at 1039, but — in doing so — it “may not consider against the defendant any constitutionally protected conduct.” United States v. Sitton, 968 F.2d 947, 962 (9th Cir.1992) (quoting United States v. Watt, 910 F.2d 587, 592 (9th Cir.1990)).

With the opinion as amended, the Appellant’s petition for panel rehearing and petition for rehearing en banc, filed August 6, 2012, is denied. The full court has been advised of the petition for rehearing and rehearing en banc and no judge has requested a vote on whether to rehear the matter en banc. See Fed. R.App. P. 35; [935]*9359th Cir. R. 35-1 & advisory committee note 2. No subsequent petitions for rehearing, rehearing en banc, or rehearing before the full court may be filed.

OPINION

CLIFTON, Circuit Judge:

Ramiro Ramos-Medina appeals from his conviction and sentence for illegally reentering the United States after previously having been deported. We conclude that Ramos’s prior conviction for first-degree burglary under California Penal Code § 459 qualified as a crime of violence under the immigration laws and for sentencing purposes. We also hold that the district court did not err in denying Ramos a two-level downward adjustment for acceptance of responsibility under Sentencing Guidelines § 3El.l(a). We distinguish the district court’s denial of an acceptance of responsibility adjustment here from cases in which district courts interpreted the Guidelines to forbid the award of such an adjustment to any defendant who forces the government to prove his guilt at trial. See United States v. Cortes, 299 F.3d 1030, 1038 (9th Cir.2002); United States v. Ochoa-Gaytan, 265 F.3d 837, 842-43 (9th Cir.2001). We affirm.

I. Background

In 2007, Ramos pled guilty to a charge of first-degree residential burglary under California Penal Code § 459. The court sentenced him to two years in prison.

Immigration officers determined that Ramos’s conviction qualified as a “crime of violence” under 18 U.S.C. § 16(b) and was thus an “aggravated felony” under the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”), 8 U.S.C. §§ 1101(a)(43)(F); 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii). They explained to Ramos that this meant he could be removed to Mexico under an administrative order without appearing before an Immigration Judge. See 8 U.S.C. §§ 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii), 1228(b). They also explained to Ramos that this procedure made him ineligible for discretionary relief from removal. See 8 U.S.C. § 1228(b)(5). Ramos signed a form acknowledging that he did not wish to contest his deportation and did not wish to seek withholding of removal. A Final Administrative Removal Order was issued, and Ramos was taken to the Mexican border and released.

Five days later, Border Patrol agents apprehended Ramos on the United States side of the border. Ramos admitted that he had illegally crossed back into the United States. He was charged with violating 8 U.S.C. § 1326

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
706 F.3d 932, 2013 WL 136032, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-ramos-medina-ca9-2012.