Opinion ID: 1035557
Heading Depth: 6
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The District Court’s Denial to Lopez of a

Text: Downward Departure Under the U.S.S.G. § 5H1.6 “Family Ties and Responsibilities” Policy Statement The district court declined to grant a downward departure for “family ties and responsibilities” because Lopez and Salas had knowingly risked the possibility their children would be left parentless by engaging in their criminal activities. Lopez challenges this denial. However, her challenge is foreclosed as a matter of law. We have “jurisdiction to review a district court’s decision not to depart downward from the guideline range only if the district court based its decision upon an erroneous belief that it lacked the authority to depart. . . . [S]omething in the record must indicate that the district court held such an erroneous belief.” United States v. Landerman, 167 F.3d 895, 899 (5th Cir. 1999) (citations omitted). Here, nothing in the record indicates that the district court erroneously believed that it lacked authority to grant a departure. Indeed, the district court expressly explained that a departure was unwarranted. Thus, this challenge is beyond our jurisdiction. We reject it without reaching the merits.