Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-azd-4_05-cr-00666/USCOURTS-azd-4_05-cr-00666-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Eduardo Magdaleno-Cabada
Defendant
United States of America
Plaintiff

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

Eduardo Magdaleno-Cabada,

Petitioner, 

vs.

United States of America,

Respondent.

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CASE NO. CV-06-111-TUC-FRZ

 CR-05-666-TUC-FRZ

ORDER

Petitioner has filed a Motion to “Vacate, Set Aside or to Modify and Correct Sentence

by a Person in Federal Custody, under Title 28 U.S.C. § 2255.”

Rule 4(b) of the Rules Governing Section 2255 Proceedings for the United States

District Courts provides, in relevant part, that

[i]f it plainly appears from the motion, any attached exhibits,

and the record of prior proceedings that the moving party is not

entitled to relief, the judge must dismiss the motion and direct

the clerk to notify the moving party.

28 U.S.C. foll. § 2255.

Background

Pursuant to a plea agreement, Petitioner entered a plea of guilty to Count Two of the

Indictment, which charged him with knowingly and intentionally possessing with the intent

to distribute approximately seventy-four pounds of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C.

§§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A)(ii)(II).

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The Court notes that Petitioner has apparently borrowed a habeas petition from a

fellow inmate. The “Statement of the Case” in his petition bears absolutely no relation to his

case, incorrectly stating the count to which he pled guilty, the offense, the sentence, and the

supervised release term.

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Pursuant to the plea agreement, Petitioner waived “any and all motions, defenses,

probable cause determinations, and objections which [he] could assert to the indictment or

to the Court’s entry of judgment against [him] and imposition of sentence upon [him]

consistent with [the plea] agreement.” In addition, Petitioner waived “any right to

collaterally attack [his] conviction and sentence under Title 28, United States Code, Section

2255.” 

The plea agreement provided for a sentencing range of 70-87 months. The Court

imposed a sentence of sixty months, ten months lower than the bottom of the sentencing

range in the plea agreement. The Court adopted the Presentence Report, which

recommended a downward variance pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) and a sentence of sixty

months because: (1) the sentence under the plea agreement was “greater than necessary to

reflect the seriousness of the offense, to promote respect for the law, and to provide just

punishment for the offense”; (2) Petitioner had a limited role in the offense, had “no known

previous participation in drug trafficking” and “apparently ha[d] an otherwise law-abiding

lifestyle and ha[d] been continuously employed throughout his life”; and (3) the Court should

consider the “need to avoid unwarranted sentence disparities among similar defendants with

similar records who have been found guilty of similar conduct.”

At sentencing, Petitioner stated that he was satisfied with his attorney’s services.

Discussion1

A. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

1. Ineffective Assistance in Plea Agreement

It appears Petitioner is asserting a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel relating

to his decision to plead guilty. Petitioner alleges that “defense counsel misrepresented and

misadvised the plea to the defendant about the condition of his plea bargain, specifically

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Moreover, had Petitioner proceeded to trial, he would have also faced trial on Count

One of the Indictment – importing approximately seventy-four pounds of cocaine into the

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inquired by defendant, in as much as counsel knew that defendant’s whole behavior and

guilty plea was structured to avoid a plea agreement that would not result in a long sentence

or a prison time” and that, if Petitioner “wouldn’t have been mislead by his counsel regarding

his plea agreement; and if defendant would have known he could be sentenced to his current

term, he would have denied his plea agreement, would not have entered a guilty plea, and

would have insisted in going to trial.”

When a defendant is represented by counsel during the plea process and pleads guilty

based upon the advice of counsel, the defendant can “‘only attack the voluntary and

intelligent character of the guilty plea by showing that the advice he received from counsel’”

was outside “‘the range of competence demanded of attorneys in criminal cases’” and was

prejudicial. Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52, 56-59, 106 S. Ct. 366, 369-70, 88 L. Ed. 2d 203

(1985) (quoting Tollett v. Henderson, 411 U.S. 258, 267, 93 S. Ct. 1602, 1608, 36 L. Ed. 2d

235 (1973), and McMann v. Richardson, 397 U.S. 759, 771, 90 S. Ct. 1441, 1449, 25 L. Ed.

2d 763 (1970)). “[T]o satisfy the ‘prejudice’ requirement, the defendant must show that

there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s errors, he would not have pleaded

guilty and would have insisted on going to trial.” Id. at 59, 106 S. Ct. at 370. 

Petitioner does not specify what advice counsel gave that fell outside the range of

competence for criminal attorneys. Moreover, Petitioner faced a significantly more serious

sentence had he been found guilty after a trial. He does not dispute that his Adjusted Offense

Level was 32 and that he had a Criminal History I. Under the Sentencing Guidelines, the

sentencing range for an Offense Level 32 and Criminal History I is 121-151 months.

Petitioner has failed to demonstrate any reasonable probability that, when his “whole

behavior” was structured to avoid a long prison sentence, he would have proceeded to trial

facing a sentencing of 121-151 months, rather than accept a plea agreement which capped

his sentence at 87 months.2

 Accordingly, Petitioner’s claim fails. See Pollard v. White, 119

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28 United States, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 952(a) and 960(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B)(ii).

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F.3d 1430, 1435 (9th Cir. 1997) (Court “do[es] not have to evaluate both prongs of the

[Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674 (1984)] test if

the defendant fails to establish one.”). 

2. Ineffective Assistance at Sentencing

a. Aberrant Behavior

Petitioner alleges that his counsel was ineffective at sentencing because his attorney

failed to request a downward departure based on Petitioner’s aberrant behavior.

 To prevail on a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel, Petitioner must show both

that his counsel’s representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness and that

counsel’s deficient performance prejudiced the defense. Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S.

668, 687-88, 104 S. Ct. 2052, 2064, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674 (1984). 

Petitioner was not entitled to a downward departure based on his aberrant behavior.

Under U.S.S.G. § 5K2.20(c)(3), the Court cannot depart downward based on aberrant

behavior if the offense is a “serious drug trafficking offense.” The Sentencing Commission

defines a “serious drug trafficking offense” as “any controlled substance offense under title

21, United States Code, other than simple possession under 21 U.S.C. § 844, that provides

for a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years or greater, regardless of

whether the defendant meets the criteria of § 5C1.2 . . . .” U.S.S.G. § 5K2.20 n.1.

Petitioner was charged with, and pled guilty to, a serious drug trafficking offense. See

21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A). Therefore, he was not entitled to a downward departure

based on his aberrant behavior and his attorney’s failure to request this departure did not

prejudice the defense. See Strickland. Thus, this claim of ineffective assistance of counsel

fails. See Pollard.

b. Deportable Alien Status

Petitioner alleges that his counsel was ineffective at sentencing because his attorney

failed to request a downward departure based on Petitioner’s status as a deportable alien. 

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First, the Court was well aware at sentencing of Petitioner’s status as a deportable

alien. Even if Petitioner’s attorney had made the argument that the Court should depart

downward based on Petitioner’s status as a deportable alien, this Court, in its discretion,

would not have departed downward. See Lizarraga-Lopez v. United States, 89 F. Supp. 2d

1166, 1170 (S.D. Cal. 2000) (concluding that defendant’s “status as a deportable alien was

squarely within the ‘heartland’ of the Sentencing Guidelines and was specifically accounted

for in the early release statute”); United States v. Martinez-Villegas, 993 F. Supp. 766, 781

(C.D. Cal. 1998) (denying downward departure based on deportable alien status and noting

that “the Ninth Circuit has shown a reluctance to allow deportability status as a basis for a

downward departure”); cf. United States v. Davoudi, 172 F.3d 1130, 1133-34 (9th Cir. 1999)

(upholding district court’s discretionary decision not to depart downward based on

deportable alien status). 

Second, Petitioner notes that a “Memorandum to all Prosecutors (Federal)” dated

April 28, 1995, instructs federal prosecutors to recommend a one or two level downward

departure “in exchange for [an] alien’s concession of deportability.” Petitioner has presented

no evidence that he agreed to accept a final deportation order. Nor does he address whether

the United States Attorney for this District has chosen to make a downward departure

recommendation in exchange for a such an agreement, or whether this ten-year-old

memorandum is still in effect.

Finally, to the extent Petitioner may be asserting an equal protection argument when

he asserts that “he will be confined to a higher security than a comparable American

counterpart on accounts of factors unrelated to moral worthiness and be subjected to more

severe punishment” because he is required to spend “the last 10% of his sentence [in a

deportation center rather than in] a minimum security facility” and because he does not

qualify for a Bureau of Prisons’ drug rehabilitation program, the Court notes that the Ninth

Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Petitioner’s argument in McLean v. Crabtree, 173 F.3d

1176 (9th Cir. 1999). In that case, the Ninth Circuit found that there was no equal protection

violation and held that “excluding prisoners with detainers from participating in communityCase 4:05-cr-00666-FRZ-BPV Document 20 Filed 03/15/06 Page 5 of 7
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Petitioner’s plea agreement was designated as a “Fast Track 5K3.1” plea agreement.

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based treatment programs, and consequently from sentence reduction eligibility, is at least

rationally related to the BOP’s legitimate interest in preventing prisoners from fleeing

detainers while participating in community treatment programs.” Id. at 1186. 

Because Petitioner’s counsel’s failure to seek a downward departure based on

Petitioner’s deportable alien status did not prejudice the defense, this ineffective assistance

claim fails. See Pollard.

c. Early Disposition

Petitioner contends his attorney was ineffective because his attorney failed to seek a

downward departure pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 5K3.1 based on his compliance with an “Early

Disposition” program. This claim is without any merit. The Court actually did depart

pursuant to the plea agreement “based on § (5K3.1) Early Disposition Program and savings

to the government by early plea and waiver of appeal.”3

 

B. Blakely

Petitioner contends that he is entitled to a downward departure based on Blakely v.

Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S. Ct. 2531, 159 L. Ed. 2d 403 (2004).

The Supreme Court in Blakely applied its prior holding in Apprendi v. New Jersey,

530 U.S. 466, 490, 120 S. Ct. 2348, 2362-63, 147 L. Ed. 2d 435 (2000): “Other than the fact

of a prior conviction, any fact that increases the penalty for a crime beyond the prescribed

statutory maximum must be submitted to a jury, and proved beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Blakely, 542 U.S. at 301, 124 S. Ct. at 2536. Petitioner has not identified how Blakely

impacts his sentence.

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Conclusion

In light of the foregoing, 

IT IS ORDERED that Petitioner’s § 2255 Motion (U.S.D.C. document #17 in CR05-666-TUC-FRZ) is DENIED and this case (CV-06-111-TUC-FRZ) is DISMISSED.

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Clerk of the Court SHALL SERVE a copy

of the Motion and this order on Respondent and SHALL SERVE a copy of this order on

Petitioner.

DATED this 13th day of March, 2006.

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