Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca5-19-50154/USCOURTS-ca5-19-50154-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Teresita Arrambide
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

No. 19-50154

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff-Appellee

v.

TERESITA ARRAMBIDE,

Defendant-Appellant

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Western District of Texas

USDC No. 5:18-CV-618

Before DENNIS, ELROD, and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:*

Teresita Arrambide, federal prisoner # 21145-479, was convicted of 

conspiring to commit money laundering, and she was sentenced to 30 months 

of imprisonment. Without holding the evidentiary hearing that Arrambide 

requested, the district court denied her 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion on the merits. 

Arrambide now requests a certificate of appealability (COA).

To obtain a COA, a petitioner must make “a substantial showing of the 

denial of a constitutional right.” 28 U.S.C. § 2253(c)(2); see Slack v. McDaniel, 

* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not 

be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH 

CIR. R. 47.5.4.

United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

FILED

February 28, 2020

Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk

Case: 19-50154 Document: 00515325808 Page: 1 Date Filed: 02/28/2020
No. 19-50154

2

529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000). Arrambide argues that trial counsel gave her bad 

sentencing advice, inducing her guilty plea with an incorrect estimation of her 

likely sentence, and that trial counsel should have sought a reduction in her 

offense level because she played only a minor role in the offense. Arrambide 

has not made the required showing to obtain a COA on these claims. See Slack, 

529 U.S. at 484. We do not consider her arguments, raised for the first time in 

her COA brief, that counsel should have moved for a downward departure 

based on her cultural assimilation under U.S.S.G. § 5K2.0 and under U.S.S.G. 

§ 5H1.6 because she has two minor children in her care. See Black v. Davis, 

902 F.3d 541, 545 (5th Cir. 2018), cert. denied, No. 18-9645, 2020 WL 129541 

(U.S. Jan. 13, 2020). Arrambide’s motion for a COA is therefore denied.

We construe Arrambide’s motion for a COA with respect to the district 

court’s denial of an evidentiary hearing as a direct appeal of that issue, see 

Norman v. Stephens, 817 F.3d 226, 234 (5th Cir. 2016), and affirm. 

Arrambide’s request that this court conduct an evidentiary hearing is denied.

COA DENIED; AFFIRMED; EVIDENTIARY HEARING DENIED.

Case: 19-50154 Document: 00515325808 Page: 2 Date Filed: 02/28/2020