Source: http://ilw.com/immigrationdaily/cases/2001,0305-Chapa.shtm
Timestamp: 2017-05-30 11:08:50
Document Index: 658353291

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

No. 99-51199
MOISES CHAPA-GARZA, also known as Moises Garza, also known as Moises Garza Chapa, also known as Moises G Chapa, also known as Moises Chapa,
No. 99-50049
JULIAN RICARDO GOYTIA-CAMPOS, also known as Julian Ricardo Goitia-Campos,
No. 99-50051
ALFONSO GUADALUPE PEREZ-VELAZQUEZ, also known as Erick Lee,
No. 99-50107
FRANCISCO JAVIER SALDANA-ROLDAN,
No. 99-50239
Before GOODWIN(1), GARWOOD and JONES, Circuit Judges.
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".(2) Application Note 1 of guideline 2L1.2 refers to 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43) for the definition of "aggravated felony".(3) Section 1101(a)(43) lists several examples of offenses considered aggravated felonies. One of these, contained in section 1101(a)(43)(F),(4) is a "crime of violence" as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 16. 18 U.S.C. § 16 provides:
Over appellants' objections, the district courts applied guideline 2L1.2's 16 level increase, finding that Texas felony DWI(5) 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.
Apprendi v. New Jersey, 120 S.Ct. 2348 (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, 118 S.Ct. 1219 (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;(6) 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.
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).(7) 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.
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.(8) More importantly, notwithstanding that DeSantiago-Gonzalez was decided before Camacho-Marroquin was withdrawn, Camacho-Marroquin was not given
"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)."
The four relevant definitions indicate that "use" refers to volitional, purposeful, not accidental, employment of whatever is being "used". Our understanding accords with the Third Circuit's in United States v. Parson, 955 F.2d 858 (3rd Cir. 1992). Although Parson involved interpretation of guideline 4B1.2(a)(2), the Third Circuit found it necessary to discuss the history of the career offender guideline, including a comparison of the pre November 1, 1989, language (which referred to 18 U.S.C. § 16) and the current language:
"[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.'
Id. at 866. This passage explains not only the proper construction of section 16(b), but also highlights the material difference in scope between it and guideline 4B1.2(a)(2). Accordingly, we refuse to read section 16(b) as we do guideline 4B1.2(a)(2), and hold, consonant with the ordinary meaning of the word "use," that a crime of violence as defined in 16(b) requires recklessness as regards the substantial likelihood that the offender will intentionally employ force against the person or property of another in order to effectuate the commission of the offense. B.
"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. C. 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).
II. The Apprendi Issue
As the Apprendi issue was not raised below, we review only for plain error. As explained below, we are unable to find error in this respect, much less plain error. 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, 118 S.Ct. 1219, 1226 (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. Kahn, 118 S.Ct. 275, 284 (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.
We hold that because intentional force against the person or property of another is seldom, if ever, employed to commit the offense of felony DWI, such offense is not a crime of violence within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 16(b). Accordingly, we VACATE the defendants-appellants' sentences and REMAND for resentencing.
1. Circuit Judge of the Ninth Circuit, sitting by designation. 2. U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2 provides:
"§2L1.2 Unlawfully Entering or Remaining in the United States
(a) Base Offense Level: 8 (b) Specific Offense Characteristic
(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." 3. Application Note 1 provides:
'Aggravated felony,' is defined at 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43) without regard to the date of conviction of the aggravated felony." 4. 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43) provides, in relevant part:
(F) a crime of violence (as defined in section 16 of Title 18, but not including a purely political offense) for which the term of imprisonment [is] at least one year;" 5. 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. 6. 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". 7. U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(a) provides:
In Rutherford, the Seventh Circuit held that drunk driving was a crime of violence under guideline 4B1.2(a)(2) because it is "a reckless act that often results in injury." Rutherford, 54 F.3d at 376-77. Rutherford's prior conviction was not for simple felony DWI, but for first degree assault. In Alabama (the jurisdiction of Rutherford's prior conviction), a person commits the offense of first degree assault if, while driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, he causes bodily injury to another with a motor vehicle. Rutherford analyzed this prior conviction as though it were merely for DWI. Id. at 376. 8. 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-Gonzales. 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.  ILW.COM Home  Attorney Membership  Case Tracking  Immigration Daily  Citizenship Materials Share this page with a friend