United States v. Reyna-Aragon

992 F.3d 381
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedMarch 26, 2021
Docket20-10071
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 992 F.3d 381 (United States v. Reyna-Aragon) 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. Reyna-Aragon, 992 F.3d 381 (5th Cir. 2021).

Opinion

Case: 20-10071 Document: 00515797658 Page: 1 Date Filed: 03/26/2021

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit

FILED March 26, 2021 No. 20-10071 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk

United States of America,

Plaintiff—Appellee,

versus

Joel Reyna-Aragon,

Defendant—Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas USDC No. 3:19-CR-275-1

Before Elrod, Willett, and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges. Kurt D. Engelhardt, Circuit Judge: Joel Reyna-Aragon pleaded guilty to illegal reentry after removal from the United States in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) and (b)(1). Applying the 2018 Guidelines, the district court sentenced him within the Guidelines range to 60 months of imprisonment. He now appeals his sentence, arguing that the district court committed ex post facto error by sentencing him pursuant to the 2018 Guidelines (those in effect when he was sentenced), rather than the more lenient 2016 Guidelines (those in effect when he committed his offense). He also argues that the district court erred under the Case: 20-10071 Document: 00515797658 Page: 2 Date Filed: 03/26/2021

No. 20-10071

Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause by considering a bare arrest record at sentencing. We AFFIRM. I. Reyna-Aragon, a native and citizen of Mexico, relocated to the United States as a child. He was granted legal permanent resident status on March 28, 2001, but subsequent criminal activity rendered him deportable. In April 2001, he pleaded guilty in Texas state court to felony sexual assault of a child under 17 (“child sex conviction”) and was sentenced to five years of deferred-adjudication probation. In July 2001, he was arrested in Texas on a separate sexual assault charge (“sexual assault arrest”), which ultimately was “no billed.” Reyna-Aragon was ordered removed from the United States to Mexico in February 2004. Shortly after Reyna-Aragon was removed, he reentered the United States. In May 2004, a Texas state court revoked his probation for the child sex conviction and imposed a two-year prison sentence. In August 2005, after his sentence expired, he was ordered removed to Mexico for the second time. Over the next several years, he reentered the United States at least twice more and sustained Texas state court convictions for failure to register as a sex offender, failure to identify himself to a law enforcement officer, and driving while intoxicated (“DWI”). In May 2019, Reyna-Aragon was indicted in the Northern District of Texas for illegally reentering the United States after removal in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) and (b)(1). He pleaded guilty to the charge without a plea agreement. In advance of Reyna-Aragon’s January 2020 sentencing, a probation officer prepared a presentence report (“PSR”). The probation officer determined that Reyna-Aragon’s illegal reentry offense concluded on January 28, 2018, while the 2016 Guidelines were still effective. The probation officer initially applied the 2016 Guidelines in the PSR, reasoning

2 Case: 20-10071 Document: 00515797658 Page: 3 Date Filed: 03/26/2021

that use of the 2018 Guidelines (those in effect at sentencing) would violate the Constitution’s Ex Post Facto Clause. Under the 2016 Guidelines, Reyna- Aragon received a total offense level of 17, including a four-level § 2L1.2(b)(2)(D) enhancement for his felony child sex conviction, and a Guidelines range of 37–46 months of imprisonment. The Government objected to the probation officer’s use of the 2016 Guidelines, arguing that application of the 2018 Guidelines was required and would not result in an ex post facto violation. The probation officer agreed with the Government and issued a revised PSR that applied the 2018 Guidelines and dismissed all previous ex post facto concerns. Under the 2018 Guidelines, Reyna-Aragon received a total offense level of 21, including an eight-level § 2L1.2(b)(2)(B) enhancement for his felony child sex conviction, and a Guidelines range of 57–71 months of imprisonment. Reyna-Aragon objected to the revised PSR, arguing that the Ex Post Facto Clause barred retroactive application of the 2018 Guidelines, because it yielded a more onerous sentencing range than the 2016 Guidelines in effect at the time of his illegal reentry offense. He contended that the district court was required to apply the 2016 Guidelines. At issue was the § 2L1.2(b)(2) enhancement. Under the 2018 Guidelines, Reyna-Aragon received an eight- level § 2L1.2(b)(2)(B) enhancement because, before his first removal, he engaged in conduct resulting in a felony conviction for which he ultimately received a two-year prison sentence.1 But under the 2016 Guidelines, Reyna- Aragon would not have received the § 2L1.2(b)(2)(B) enhancement because, before his first removal, the probation on his felony conviction had not yet

1 U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(2)(B) (2018) (“If, before the defendant was ordered . . . removed from the United States for the first time, the defendant engaged in criminal conduct that, at any time, resulted in . . . a conviction for a felony offense . . . for which the sentence imposed was two years or more, increase by 8 levels.”).

3 Case: 20-10071 Document: 00515797658 Page: 4 Date Filed: 03/26/2021

been revoked, and he had not yet received a prison sentence.2 Instead, he would only have received a four-level § 2L1.2(b)(2)(D) enhancement.3 Reyna-Aragon’s objection was overruled by the district court, which adopted the revised PSR and applied the 2018 Guidelines at sentencing. In arguing for a “midpoint to higher” sentence within the 2018 Guidelines range (57–71 months), the Government contended that Reyna- Aragon posed a danger to the safety of the community, citing his state court convictions and two prior removals. The Government further noted Reyna- Aragon’s sexual assault arrest, stating that “it was no billed, but it was deemed serious enough that I think his community supervision was extended.” After hearing from the parties, the district court stated, I think that the prior [child sex conviction] is—you know, it may have been 20 years ago, but it’s very serious. And then he has another one that he got arrested for. . . . I know he was adjudicated guilty [of the child sex offense]. And then, you know . . . he had two years to do. So it is a serious offense.

2 At the time, the Fifth Circuit interpreted U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(2)(B) (2016) to apply only if the defendant’s probation was revoked, and the sentence imposed, prior to his first removal. United States v. Franco-Galvan, 864 F.3d 338 (5th Cir. 2017). The 2018 Guidelines amended § 2L1.2(b)’s text and application notes to specifically nullify Franco- Galvan. U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(2) (2018); U.S.S.G. supp. app. C, amend. 809 (“[T]he length of a sentence imposed for purposes of § 2L1.2(b)(2) . . . should include any additional term of imprisonment imposed upon revocation of probation, suspended sentence, or supervised release, regardless of whether the revocation occurred before or after the defendant’s first (or any subsequent) order of removal.” (emphasis added)). 3 U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(2)(D) (2016) (“If, before the defendant was ordered . . . removed from the United States for the first time, the defendant sustained . . . a conviction for any other felony offense . . . increase by 4 levels.”); see Franco-Galvan, 864 F.3d at 340– 43 (four-level enhancement under § 2L1.2(b)(2)(D) (2016) applied to defendant who sustained felony conviction and only received probation before his first removal).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
992 F.3d 381, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-reyna-aragon-ca5-2021.