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UNITED STATES v. MURILLO CAMACHO (2021)

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.2021-04-26No. No. 20-50262

Summary

Holding. The court affirmed the 24-month sentence, finding it substantively reasonable under the sentencing factors and appropriate in light of the defendant's criminal and immigration history.

Jose Antonio Murillo-Camacho pleaded guilty to unlawful attempted entry as an alien and received a 24-month sentence. On appeal, he challenged the sentence on two grounds. First, he objected to the district court's reference to sentencing outcomes in illegal reentry cases, but the court had mentioned those cases only when explaining why the government did not charge him with that more serious offense. Second, he argued the court relied on an invalid prior removal order to improperly enhance his sentence, but the record showed the court understood the applicable sentencing guidelines and deliberately imposed a sentence above the guideline range based on his substantial history of prior immigration and criminal convictions, which included two prior prison sentences of 46 and 57 months for immigration offenses.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

  • Whether comparing defendant to illegal reentry defendants constituted sentencing error
  • Whether the district court relied on clearly erroneous facts regarding a prior removal order
  • Whether an above-guidelines sentence was substantively reasonable given the defendant's prior convictions

Procedural posture

The defendant appealed his guilty-plea conviction and sentence imposed by the district court.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Jose Antonio Murillo-Camacho appeals from the district courts judgment and challenges the 24-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for unlawful attempted entry by an alien, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1325(a). We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.

Murillo-Camacho first contends that the district court erred by comparing him to defendants convicted of illegal reentry under 8 U.S.C. § 1326 when determining his sentence. However, the district courts reference to another defendants § 1326 proceeding was made in the context of a discussion regarding the governments decision not to charge Murillo-Camacho with illegal reentry. Further, the district court properly considered Murillo-Camachos prior sentences for immigration offenses. See 18 U.S.C. §§ 3553(a)(1), (a)(2)(B).

Murillo-Camacho next contends that the district court relied on clearly erroneous facts by assuming that Murillo-Camachos prior removal order was valid and thereby implicitly applying a 10-level enhancement to his base offense level. He maintains that, at a minimum, remand is warranted for the district court to clarify that it did not base the sentence on an incorrect Guidelines range. The record makes clear, however, that the district court knew the applicable Guidelines range. It nevertheless determined that an above-Guidelines sentence was warranted in light of Murillo-Camachos immigration and criminal history, which included prior sentences of 46 and 57 months for immigration offenses. In light of these circumstances, and the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) sentencing factors, the sentence is substantively reasonable. See United States v. Burgos-Ortega, 777 F.3d 1047, 1056-57 (9th Cir. 2015).

AFFIRMED.