Source: http://openjurist.org/442/f3d/539/united-states-v-martinez-martinez
Timestamp: 2015-08-28 07:33:51
Document Index: 456255847

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1326', '§ 3553', '§ 3553', '§ 3553', '§ 1326', '§ 3553']

442 F3d 539 United States v. Martinez-Martinez | OpenJurist
442 F. 3d 539 - United States v. Martinez-Martinez Home
442 F3d 539 United States v. Martinez-Martinez 442 F.3d 539
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,v.Hector MARTINEZ-MARTINEZ, Defendant-Appellant.
Hector Martinez pleaded guilty to reentering the United States after having been deported following a conviction for an aggravated felony. See 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a), (b)(2). At sentencing, Mr. Martinez requested a sentence of 24 months' imprisonment or less; he contended that a longer sentence would create a sentencing disparity between himself and similarly situated defendants prosecuted in districts that employ a "fast-track" sentencing program for this type of crime. The district court rejected Mr. Martinez's request and sentenced him to 41 months' imprisonment — the low end of the advisory guideline range for his offense level and his criminal history category. The district court also imposed a term of three years' supervised release. Mr. Martinez now contends that his sentence is unreasonable in light of the sentencing considerations set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). For the reasons set forth in this opinion, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
Mr. Martinez was sentenced after the Supreme Court decided United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005). The district court, therefore, treated the Guidelines as advisory and looked to the sentencing factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) to determine the proper sentence. At sentencing, Mr. Martinez did not object to his offense level or criminal history score, as set forth in his presentence investigation report. Instead, emphasizing that 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(6) required the district court to consider the need to avoid unwarranted sentence disparities, Mr. Martinez requested a sentence no longer than 24 months. He relied upon several cases in other district courts in which seemingly similarly situated defendants were sentenced below the Guidelines recommendation.1 These courts recognized a disparity in sentences between those districts that employ fast-track procedures for sentencing defendants convicted under 8 U.S.C. § 1326, and districts that do not. Accordingly, these courts took that discrepancy into account in determining the sentence imposed on the defendant.
In this case, the district court stated that it considered the factors outlined in § 3553(a), but nevertheless concluded that the recommended sentencing range of 41 to 51 months was "reflected in the application of [§] 3553(a)" and that the range was "[m]ore than reasonable." R.30 at 34-35. The district court did not discuss specifically the possible disparity between sentences in districts that employ a fast-track procedu