Opinion ID: 1446760
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Assault with Intent To Commit Rape Is a Crime of Violence.

Text: Even though the Guidelines were made advisory in United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005), the district court's Guidelines calculation is still subject to appellate review, as district courts must utilize the Guidelines, along with the sentencing goals, when fashioning a sentence. United States v. Reina-Rodriguez, 468 F.3d 1147, 1150 n. 1 (9th Cir.2006) (quoting Booker, 543 U.S. at 259, 125 S.Ct. 738). Section 2L1.2 of the Guidelines applies to a violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. See U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2 cmt. statutory provisions (2005). The Guidelines provide a base offense level of eight, with the possibility of various increases in offense level if the defendant previously was deported after certain qualifying convictions. See U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2. Pursuant to § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A), an enhancement of sixteen levels applies if Bolanos was deported after committing a crime of violence. U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(ii). According to the Commentary, a crime of violence is defined as: murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, aggravated assault, forcible sex offenses, statutory rape, sexual abuse of a minor, robbery, arson, extortion, extortionate extension of credit, burglary of a dwelling, or any offense under federal, state, or local law that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another. U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2, cmt. n. 1(B)(iii) (emphasis added). Forcible sex offenses are thus enumerated crimes of violence. Attempts to commit such offenses are also counted as crimes of violence. See id. § 2L1.2 cmt. n. 5. To determine whether a defendant's particular prior offense qualifies as a crime of violence under § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(ii), we look to the framework established by Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575, 110 S.Ct. 2143, 109 L.Ed.2d 607 (1990). See United States v. Pimentel-Flores, 339 F.3d 959, 968 (9th Cir.2003). Taylor requires that the court analyze the statutory definition of the offense rather than the defendant's underlying conduct. Taylor, 495 U.S. at 602, 110 S.Ct. 2143. We compare the elements of a forcible sex offense with the statutory elements of Bolanos' prior offense of assault with intent to commit rape. Cf. id. at 598-602, 110 S.Ct. 2143. If the elements of a forcible sex offense encompass California's definition of assault with intent to commit rape, assault with intent to commit rape is categorically a crime of violence. [1] See id. at 588, 110 S.Ct. 2143. In conducting this analysis, we read the state statutes according to their interpretation by California state courts. See Reina-Rodriguez, 468 F.3d at 1152. We first consider what conduct is encompassed by the term forcible sex offense. We ascribe traditional crimes, such as burglary or theft, their generic, contemporary meaning, by reference to the definitions employed by most states as well as guidance from LaFave's treatise and the Model Penal Code. See, e.g., Taylor, 495 U.S. at 598, 110 S.Ct. 2143 (burglary); United States v. Corona-Sanchez, 234 F.3d 449, 452-55 (9th Cir.2000) (theft). Non-traditional offenses, on the other hand, are defined according to their ordinary, contemporary, and common meaning. United States v. Lopez-Solis, 447 F.3d 1201, 1207 (9th Cir.2006) (internal quotation marks omitted); see, e.g., Leocal v. Ashcroft, 543 U.S. 1, 9, 125 S.Ct. 377, 160 L.Ed.2d 271 (2004) (interpreting crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. § 16 by referencing the natural connotation and ordinary meaning of the statutory language setting forth the definition); Fernandez-Ruiz v. Gonzales, 466 F.3d 1121, 1125, 1132 (9th Cir.2006) (en banc) (following Leocal to interpret the meaning of crime of domestic violence under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(E)(i)); Lopez-Solis, 447 F.3d at 1207 (defining sexual abuse of a minor under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2 employing the dictionary definition of abuse and the common understanding of the words sexual and minor); United States v. Trinidad-Aquino, 259 F.3d 1140, 1145 (9th Cir.2001) (interpreting crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. § 16 by referencing the dictionary definition and ordinary, contemporary, and common parlance of the statutory language setting forth the definition). A forcible sex offense is not a traditional crime. The term appears in the codes of only three states. See Cal. Welf. & Inst.Code § 602(b)(2)(C); Cal.Penal Code § 264.1 (referring to sexual intercourse or penetration by force or violence); Me.Rev.Stat. Ann. tit. 17-a, §§ 108 cmt., 253(1)(A) (referring to sexual intercourse compelled by force); N.H.Rev.Stat. Ann. § 627:4(II) (offering no additional description of the term). It is not discussed at all by the Model Penal Code or LaFave's treatise. See generally Model Penal Code §§ 213.0-.6 (1981) (discussing sexual offenses); Wayne R. LaFave, Substantive Criminal Law 604-64 (2d ed.2003) (discussing rape). Forcible sex offenses, therefore, are defined according to the ordinary, contemporary, and common meaning of the term. But we need not formulate a comprehensive definition of forcible sex offenses in order to resolve this appeal, as we are satisfied that assault with intent to commit rape would satisfy the ordinary, contemporary, and common meaning of a forcible sex offense. First, rape is a sex offense, as the term is commonly understood. See Black's Law Dictionary 1112 (8th ed.2004) (a sexual offense involv[es] unlawful sexual conduct); cf. United States v. Beltran-Munguia, 489 F.3d 1042 (9th Cir.2007) (in considering whether defendant's conviction for second-degree sexual abuse required force, assuming without discussion that criminal acts of sexual intercourse or penetration would qualify). As the Sentencing Commission has indicated that attempt crimes carry the same weight as completed crimes, attempted rape would also qualify as a sex offense. See U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2 cmt. n. 5. Assault with intent to commit rape, in violation of California Penal Code §§ 220 (prohibiting assaults with intent to commit certain felonies) and 261 (prohibiting rape), is considered by the California courts to be an aggravated form of attempted rape. See People v. Holt, 15 Cal.4th 619, 63 Cal. Rptr.2d 782, 937 P.2d 213, 248-49 (1997) (stating that assault with intent to commit rape would be the appropriate charge where there has been an attempted but unsuccessful rape which included an assault). As a form of attempted rape, assault with intent to commit rape is a sex offense. The question remaining is whether the offense of assault with intent to commit rape is forcible. Prior opinions of this circuit provide a starting point for interpretation of this element. Specifically, we have held that forcible connotes the use of some force outside of the act of unwanted penetration. In Beltran-Munguia, we recently held that the Oregon crime of sexual abuse in the second degree, which criminalizes nonconsensual intercourse or penetration, [2] is not categorically a forcible sex offense. 489 F.3d at 1050-51. We first noted that the plain language of the term suggested a requirement of force. Id. Relying on an earlier case, which had declared that the California crime of sexual battery was not a forcible sex offense because it merely required ephemeral touching of the victim, we held that there must be an element of force within the state statute to qualify it as forcible. Id. (citing United States v. Lopez-Montanez, 421 F.3d 926, 929-30 (9th Cir.2005)). Elsewhere, the opinion rejected the possibility that the requisite amount of force inheres in an act of penetration. Id. at 1048. Because the Oregon statute did not require an independent showing of force above and beyond the force inherent to penetration, the conviction could not qualify as a categorical forcible sex offense. Id. at 1050-51. Under Beltran-Munguia, therefore, forcible sex offenses criminalize acts that necessitate the use of force. On the other hand, forcible does not refer to the heightened level of force needed to qualify a crime under § 2L1.2's provision that a crime of violence includes any offense under federal, state, or local law that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another. U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2 cmt. n. 1(B)(iii). In considering whether an offense fits under this catch-all provision, we require that such force `must actually be violent in nature.' United States v. Ceron-Sanchez, 222 F.3d 1169, 1172 (9th Cir.2000) (quoting Ye v. INS, 214 F.3d 1128, 1133 (9th Cir. 2000)), overruled on other grounds, Fernandez-Ruiz, 466 F.3d at 1132, 1134-35. It is a fundamental canon of statutory construction that a text should not be construed so as to render any of its provisions mere surplusage. See, e.g., TRW Inc. v. Andrews, 534 U.S. 19, 31, 122 S.Ct. 441, 151 L.Ed.2d 339 (2001). Requiring forcible sex offenses, one of the enumerated crimes of violence, to contain the same level of force required to qualify a crime under the catch-all provision would subsume forcible sex offenses within the catch-all category, rendering the enumeration superfluous. We reject this reading of the provision. The Sentencing Commission has disavowed such a result. Prior to November 1, 2003, the definition of crime of violence contained within the commentary to § 2L1.2 was as follows: (I) means an offense under federal, state, or local law that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another; and (II) includes murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, aggravated assault, forcible sex offenses (including sexual abuse of a minor), robbery, arson, extortion, extortionate extension of credit, and burglary of a dwelling. U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2 cmt. n. 1(B)(ii) (2002) (amended 2003). The preceding definition was amended in 2003 to its current definition, which (among other changes) combines sub-sections I and II, reverses their order, and changes the connecting word from and to or: Crime of violence means any of the following: murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, aggravated assault, forcible sex offenses, statutory rape, sexual abuse of a minor, robbery, arson, extortion, extortionate extension of credit, burglary of a dwelling, or any offense under federal, state, or local law that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another. Id. § 2L1.2 cmt. n. 1(B)(iii) (2005). The Commission explained that the reason for the commentary amendment was to clarif[y] the meaning of the term crime of violence by providing that the term means any of the following:. . . . The previous definition often led to confusion over whether the specified offenses listed in that definition, particularly sexual abuse of a minor and residential burglary, also had to include as an element of the offense the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another. The amended definition makes clear that the enumerated offenses are always classified as crimes of violence, regardless of whether the prior offense expressly has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another. Id. app. C, vol. II, amd. 658, at 401-02 (Nov. 1, 2003); [3] cf. Asberry, 394 F.3d at 716-17 (citing Amendment 658 as evidence of the Sentencing Commission's intent that the Oregon offense of statutory rape, which contains no requirement of force, should be treated as a per se crime of violence). Forcible sex offenses therefore require more force than that inherent to penetration but need not require violent force. After examining California's interpretation of assault with intent to commit rape in light of the above considerations, we conclude that it is forcible because California courts require a showing that the defendant has used or attempted at least some level of force on the victim. A conviction for assault with intent to commit rape, in violation of Cal.Penal Code §§ 220 and 261(a)(2), requires proof of the elements of attempted rape plus those of assault. People v. Pierce, 104 Cal.App.4th 893, 128 Cal.Rptr.2d 397, 401 (2002); see also Comm. on Cal.Crim. Jury Instructions, California Jury Instructions: Criminal (CALJIC) § 9.09 (2006) (jury instructions for Assault With Intent to Commit Certain Felonies, requiring proof that a person was assaulted and that the assault was made with the specific intent to commit the associated felony, such as rape). The jury instructions for assault require the prosecution to prove the following elements: 1. A person willfully [and unlawfully] committed an act which by its nature would probably and directly result in the application of physical force on another person; 2. The person committing the act was aware of facts that would lead a reasonable person to realize that as a direct, natural, and probable result of this act that physical force would be applied to another person; and 3. At the time the act was committed, the person committing the act had the present ability to apply physical force on the person of another. CALJIC 9.00 (2006). [4] Each of these elements specifically discusses the application of actual or attempted physical force on the victim. Assault with intent to commit rape therefore requires at least the attempted application of some physical force. [5] Further, the force appears to be in addition to that required to complete intercourse or penetration. We have located no case in which a defendant was convicted of assault with intent to commit rape without conduct involving the application of force above and beyond the force inherent to the threatened act of penetration. For example, in People v. Davis, 10 Cal.4th 463, 41 Cal.Rptr.2d 826, 896 P.2d 119 (1995), the California Supreme Court held that there was sufficient evidence the defendant had committed assault with intent to commit rape where the victim testified that he prevented her from opening the car door to leave, and he aggressively fondled her breasts and crotch over her protests. Id. at 142-43. Similarly, in People v. Bradley, 15 Cal.App.4th 1144, 19 Cal.Rptr.2d 276 (1993), overruled on other grounds in People v. Rayford, 9 Cal.4th 1, 36 Cal.Rptr.2d 317, 884 P.2d 1369, 1381 (1994), the Court of Appeal found sufficient evidence of assault with intent to commit rape where the defendant grabbed the victim's arm, forced her to hang up the phone, and led her by the arm to a secluded area. Id. at 283, 36 Cal.Rptr.2d 317, 884 P.2d 1369; cf. James v. United States, ___ U.S. ___, 127 S.Ct. 1586, 1597, 167 L.Ed.2d 532 (2007) (holding that courts should examine the ordinary case, rather than theoretical possibilities, when evaluating whether a crime presented a serious potential risk of injury under 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)(ii)); Gonzales v. Duenas-Alvarez, ___ U.S. ___, 127 S.Ct. 815, 822, 166 L.Ed.2d 683 (2007) ([T]o find that a state statute creates a crime outside the generic definition of a listed crime . . . requires a realistic probability, not a theoretical possibility, that the State would apply its statute to conduct that falls outside the generic definition of a crime.). [6] Thus, because California caselaw suggests that the ordinary conviction for violating California Penal Code §§ 220 and 261(a)(2) will involve the application or threat of force, extrinsic to the force required for penetration, and because the essential crime is an attempted rape, we hold that assault with intent to commit rape is a forcible sex offense.