Source: https://casetext.com/case/chapa-garza
Timestamp: 2018-10-18 00:57:32
Document Index: 615108594

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 1326', '§ 2', '§ 1101', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 2', '§ 2', '§ 1101', '§ 1101', '§ 16', '§ 2', '§ 49', '§ 1326', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 4', '§ 1101', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 4', '§ 4', '§ 16', '§ 4', '§ 4', '§ 16', '§ 16', '§ 16']

U.S. v. Chapa-Garza, 243 F.3d 921 | Casetext
U.S. v. Chapa-Garza
Chapa-Garza
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth CircuitMar 1, 2001
U.S. v. Medina-Anicacio
…96 Cal. Rptr.2d 735, 1 P.3d at 58 (emphasis in original). In United States v. Chapa-Garza, 243 F.3d 921,…
U.S. v. Vargas-Duran
…EMILIO M. GARZA, Circuit Judge: Enrique Vargas-Duran appeals the district court&apos;s determination that his…
holding Texas felony DWI is not a crime of violence
Summary of this case from United States v. Urbina
holding that a DWI conviction does not constitute a crime of violence as defined by 18 U.S.C. § 16(b)
Summary of this case from Castillo-Perales v. Mukasey
holding that a drunk driving offense did not qualify as a crime of violence under § 16 because "use of physical force . . . is most reasonably read to refer to intentional conduct, not an accidental, unintended event"
Summary of this case from U.S. v. Zuniga-Soto
Nos. 99-51199, 00-50049, 00-50051, 00-50107 and 00-50239.
Philip J. Lynch (argued), San Antonio, TX, for Defendants-Appellants.
All five of the defendants-appellants pleaded guilty to unlawfully being in the United States after removal therefrom, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a). For violating section 1326(a), U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2 provides for a base offense level of 8, with an increase of 16 offense levels if removal from the United States was preceded by a conviction for an "aggravated felony". Application Note 1 of guideline 2L1.2 refers to 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43) for the definition of "aggravated felony". Section 1101(a)(43) lists several examples of offenses considered aggravated felonies. One of these, contained in section 1101(a)(43)(F), is a "crime of violence" as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 16. 18 U.S.C. § 16 provides:
U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2 provides:
"§ 2L1.2 Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States
(B) If the conviction was for (i) any other felony, or (ii) three or more misdemeanor crimes of violence or misdemeanor controlled substance offenses, increase by 4 levels."
"1. For purposes of this guideline —
`Aggravated felony,' is defined at 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43) without regard to the date of conviction of the aggravated felony."
8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43) provides, in relevant part:
"(43) The term `aggravated felony' means —
Over appellants' objections, the district courts applied guideline 2L1.2's 16 level increase, finding that Texas felony DWI was a crime of violence as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 16(b). As a result, the sentence of each appellant was considerably higher than it otherwise would have been. At the time these appeals were taken, the sole issue raised by each defendant was whether Texas felony DWI is "an aggravated felony" under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A). Because the issues were identical, the cases were consolidated for oral argument.
TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 49.09 provides that after two convictions for violating section 49.04, Driving While Intoxicated, subsequent convictions are third degree felonies instead of Class B misdemeanors.
Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), was decided after the defendants-appellants filed their opening briefs. By a single supplemental brief, the defendants-appellants each raise the same Apprendi issue. 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) provides that the maximum sentence shall be a fine and/or imprisonment up to two years. Section 1326(b)(2) increases the maximum penalty to a fine and/or imprisonment up to twenty years if the removal of the defendant was preceded by a conviction for an aggravated felony. The defendants-appellants' sentences ranged from 41 to 57 months, all well above the section 1326(a) maximum. Defendants-appellants argue that, under Apprendi, the statutory maximum cannot be increased from two to twenty years unless the fact that triggers the higher maximum sentence of section 1326(b)(2), a prior aggravated felony conviction, is alleged in the indictment. Defendants-appellants concede that their argument is foreclosed by Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224, 118 S.Ct. 1219, 140 L.Ed.2d 350 (1998), and raise the issue in this Court only to preserve the possibility of review by the United States Supreme Court.
18 U.S.C. § 16(b) is the only justification for the 16-level enhancement advanced by the government. Section 16(b) provides that a crime of violence is "any other offense that is a felony and that, by its nature, involves a substantial risk that physical force against the person or property of another may be used in the course of committing the offense." The government correctly observes that the words "by its nature" require us to employ a categorical approach when determining whether an offense is a crime of violence. Velazquez-Overa, 100 F.3d at 420-21. This means that the particular facts of the defendant's prior conviction do not matter, e.g. whether the defendant actually did use force against the person or property of another to commit the offense. The proper inquiry is whether a particular defined offense, in the abstract, is a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. § 16(b).
This is the second time a panel of this Court has been called upon to decide the question of whether felony DWI is a crime of violence as defined by 18 U.S.C. § 16(b). In Camacho-Marroquin v. Immigration and Naturalization Service, 188 F.3d 649 (5th Cir. 1999), withdrawn 222 F.3d 1040 (5th Cir. 2000), this Court held that felony DWI was a crime of violence. However, Camacho-Marroquin moved to withdraw his petition for rehearing en banc so that the Immigration and Naturalization Service could deport him in lieu of incarceration. As a result, the panel withdrew its opinion. Camacho-Marroquin had held that felony DWI was a crime of violence because of the substantial risk that drunk driving will result in an automobile accident. Camacho-Marroquin, 188 F.3d at 652. The government agrees with this approach and urges that anytime an offense involves a substantial risk of harm, even accidental harm, that offense is a crime of violence.
We disagree with the government's proposed construction of section 16(b) for three reasons: 1) it requires that section 16(b) be construed the same as U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a)(2), which now contains significantly broader language; 2) "substantial risk that physical force . . . may be used" contemplates only reckless disregard for the probability that intentional force may be employed; and 3) the physical force described in section 16(b) is that "used in the course of committing the offense", not that force that could result from the offense having been committed.
Prior to the November 1, 1989, change, guideline 4B1.2, like the current version of guideline 2L1.2 (via 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(F)), referred to 18 U.S.C. § 16 for the definition of "crime of violence".
There are two possible constructions of the operative language of 18 U.S.C. § 16(b). The government urges that we interpret section 16(b) the same way the Seventh Circuit interpreted U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a)(2) in United States v. Rutherford, 54 F.3d 370 (7th Cir. 1995). Under the guideline 4B1.2(a)(2) standard, any offense that involves "pure recklessness," i.e. a conscious disregard of a substantial risk of injury to others, is a crime of violence. The alternative reading is that section 16(b) applies only when the nature of the offense is such that there is a substantial likelihood that the perpetrator will intentionally employ physical force against another's person or property in the commission thereof. The latter approach requires recklessness as regards a substantial risk that intentional force will be utilized by the defendant to effectuate commission of the offense.
U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a) provides:
"The term `crime of violence' means any offense under federal or state law, punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, that —
In United States v. DeSantiago-Gonzalez, 207 F.3d 261 (5th Cir. 2000), this Court recognized the difference between section 16(b) and guideline 4B1.2(a)(2). DeSantiago-Gonzalez was applying, to misdemeanor DWI, the same guideline 4B1.2(a)(2) language that Rutherford applied to felony DWI. More importantly, notwithstanding that DeSantiago-Gonzalez was decided before Camacho-Marroquin was withdrawn, Camacho-Marroquin was not given
DeSantiago-Gonzalez, like the present case, involved an enhancement under guideline 2L1.2. However, guideline 2L1.2 contains two offense level increase options. The first is a 16 level increase for an aggravated felony. This is the increase applied to the defendants-appellants. The second is a four level increase if the defendant has a prior record that includes any other felony or three or more misdemeanor crimes of violence or misdemeanor controlled substance offenses. This was the enhancement at issue in DeSantiago-Gonzalez. For purposes of the four level enhancement only, Application Note 1, Clause 4 of guideline 2L1.2 expressly references guideline 4B1.2 for the definition of a crime of violence.
"controlling effect because it was a deportation case wherein the applicable definition of `crime of violence' was found at 18 U.S.C. § 16, which defines the term `crime of violence' in language similar to but not identical with the definition which controls the sentencing issue presented in this appeal found at U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a)."
"[T]he second branch of the definition in section 16 covered only felonies that `by nature, involve a substantial risk that physical force . . . may be used,' whereas the revised definition in the current Guideline's second prong [§ 4B1.2(a)(2)] covers conduct that `presents a serious risk of physical injury.'
In contrast, under the second prong of the revised definition, criminals whose actions merely risk causing physical injury may have a lower mens rea of `pure' recklessness: they may lack an intent, desire or willingness to use force or cause harm at all. For example, a parent who leaves a young child unattended near a pool may risk serious injury to the child, but the action does not involve an intent to use force or otherwise harm the child. Similarly, a drunk driver risks causing severe injury to others on the road or in the car, but in most cases he or she does not intend to use force to harm others. In this case, the crime of reckless endangering necessarily involves a serious risk of physical injury to another person, but not necessarily an intent to use force against other persons."
Another aspect of section 16(b) that bears upon the question of whether felony DWI is a crime of violence is the requirement that the physical force be applied "in the course of committing the offense". The meaning of these words is exemplified in this Court's decision of United States v. Velazquez-Overa, 100 F.3d 418 (5th Cir. 1996). In Velazquez-Overa, we held that the crime of indecency with a child involving sexual contact was a crime of violence as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 16(b) because it was likely that the perpetrator would find it necessary to use physical force to "ensure the child's compliance" and "perpetrate the crime". Id. at 422. Velazquez-Overa explicitly distinguished guideline 4B1.2(a)(2) on this basis.
"The definition of `crime of violence' in the career offender provisions differs somewhat from that in 18 U.S.C. § 16. The touchstone of `violence' in the career offender provisions is the risk that physical injury will result, rather than the risk that physical force may be used to carry out the offense."
Id. at 421 n. 4. That section 16(b) refers only to that physical force that may be used to perpetrate the offense is in harmony with its requirement that the offender intentionally use the force against the person or property of another.
We turn now to the ultimate question we are called upon to decide. While the victim of a drunk driver may sustain physical injury from physical force being applied to his body as a result of collision with the drunk driver's errant automobile, it is clear that such force has not been intentionally "used" against the other person by the drunk driver at all, much less in order to perpetrate any crime, including the crime of felony DWI. The crime of Texas felony DWI is committed when the defendant, after two prior DWI convictions, begins operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Intentional force against another's person or property is virtually never employed to commit this offense. Accordingly, we hold that felony DWI is not a crime of violence as defined by 18 U.S.C. § 16(b).
"Just as burglary of a vehicle involves a substantial risk that property might be damaged or destroyed in the commission of the offense, the unauthorized use of a vehicle likewise carries a substantial risk that the vehicle might be broken into, `stripped,' or vandalized, or that it might become involved in an accident, resulting not only in damage to the vehicle and other property, but in personal injuries to innocent victims as well.
It is true that, as argued by Galvan, the unauthorized use of a motor vehicle will not always result in physical force to persons or property, as, for example, when a child takes the family car `joyriding' without parental consent; however, there is a strong probability that the inexperienced or untrustworthy driver who has no pride of ownership in the vehicle will be involved in or will cause a traffic accident or expose the car to stripping or vandalism." (footnote omitted).
Appellants recognize that the Supreme Court has held that the enhanced penalties contained in section 1326(b) were mere sentencing factors and not elements of a separate offense. See Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224, 118 S.Ct. 1219, 1226, 140 L.Ed.2d 350 (1998). They point out that Justice Thomas, one of the five justices who joined in the Supreme Court's Almendarez-Torres opinion, may no longer support its holding. See Apprendi, 120 S.Ct. at 2379. But no matter how much in doubt the continuing viability of Almendarez-Torres may be, that decision is not overruled unless and until the United States Supreme Court says it is. State Oil v. Khan, 522 U.S. 3, 118 S.Ct. 275, 284, 139 L.Ed.2d 199 (1997). Until then, as conceded by the defendants-appellants, we are bound by Almendarez-Torres. Therefore, we reject defendants-appellants' argument that Apprendi prevents them from being sentenced to a term of imprisonment of more than two years.