Opinion ID: 3032185
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: Bahena-Cardenas argues that there was insufficient evidence with respect to three of the four elements of 8 U.S.C. § 1326 — voluntary entry, physical departure after deportation, and alienage. Because a jury found as a matter of fact that Bahena-Cardenas was guilty, we “must review the evidence presented against the defendant in the light most favorable to the government to determine whether any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” United States v. PachecoMedina, 212 F.3d 1162, 1163 (9th Cir. 2000) (internal quotations omitted). UNITED STATES v. BAHENA-CARDENAS 7003
[2] Bahena-Cardenas argues that the government did not present sufficient evidence that he voluntarily reentered the United States, as required by 8 U.S.C. § 1326.1 Although the prosecution did not present any direct evidence of voluntary entry, such entry could be permissibly inferred from the government’s evidence. At trial, the government presented evidence that BahenaCardenas was found in National City, California, a city in San Diego County that does not share a border with Mexico. Bahena-Cardenas did not present any evidence to the contrary. This evidence is sufficient to prove voluntary entry under United States v. Quintana-Torres, 224 F.3d 1157 (9th Cir. 2000). [3] In Quintana-Torres, we held that “evidence of [the defendant] being in the United States a distance from the border was sufficient in this case to justify any reasonable juror inferring that he had voluntarily entered the United States.” Id. at 1158. In the absence of evidence suggesting that the defendant entered the United States involuntarily, his presence in the United States “is circumstantial proof [of voluntary reentry] that is convincing unless explained away” because of the small likelihood that someone entered the United States involuntarily. Id. at 1159. Because BahenaCardenas did not present any such evidence, we hold that the government produced sufficient evidence to allow any ratio- 1 Bahena-Cardenas also argues that the allegations in the indictment were insufficient because the indictment did not allege entry. However, “we have never suggested that the crime of ‘entry’ must be charged in order to charge the crime of being ‘found in’ ” the United States. United States v. Parga-Rosas, 238 F.3d 1209, 1213 (9th Cir. 2001). In PargaRosas, the court specifically held that even though voluntary entry is an element that must be proven at trial, it need not be specifically alleged when the indictment charges that the defendant was found in the United States. Id. 7004 UNITED STATES v. BAHENA-CARDENAS nal jury to decide that Bahena-Cardenas entered the United States voluntarily.
The government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Bahena-Cardenas physically left the country sometime between the time he was ordered deported and the time he was found in the United States. United States v. Romo-Romo, 246 F.3d 1272, 1275-76 (9th Cir. 2001). Indeed, “an alien must actually leave the country before he can be convicted under § 1326.” Id. Bahena-Cardenas argues that the government failed to provide sufficient evidence of physical removal because the only evidence showing that he actually left the United States after he was ordered deported was inadmissible hearsay under Crawford v. Washington, 124 S.Ct. 1354 (2004). To prove physical removal, the government offered into evidence a warrant of deportation, signed by an immigration official. The form included a statement that the officer who signed the document “witnessed” Bahena-Cardenas’ departure. At trial, a second immigration official testified that it was standard practice for immigration officers to complete and sign a warrant of deportation as they witnessed an alien’s deportation. This second immigration officer admitted, however, that he did not “personally observe Mr. Bahena leaving the country.” Before Crawford, 124 S.Ct. 1354, the admissibility of the warrant of deportation was clearly established in this circuit. See United States v. Contreras, 63 F.3d 852, 857 (9th Cir. 1995) (holding that “[t]he I-205 form [warrant of deportation] is hearsay, but is admissible under the public records exception to the hearsay rule”); see also United States v. Hernandez-Rojas, 617 F.2d 533 (9th Cir. 1980). BahenaCardenas argues that after the Supreme Court’s decision in UNITED STATES v. BAHENA-CARDENAS 7005 Crawford, the warrant of deportation is no longer admissible. We disagree. [4] In Crawford, the Supreme Court held that “the government cannot introduce testimonial evidence against a criminal defendant where the declarant is unavailable at trial and there was no opportunity for cross-examination at the time the prior testimony was given.” United States v. Wilmore, 381 F.3d 868, 871 (9th Cir. 2004) (emphasis added) (citing Crawford, 124 S.Ct. at 1374); see Parle v. Runnels, 387 F.3d 1030, 1037 (9th Cir. 2004) (holding that Crawford does not apply to nontestimonial hearsay). However, the Supreme Court declined to define what constitutes testimonial evidence. Instead, the Court noted that “[w]e leave for another day any effort to spell out a comprehensive definition of ‘testimonial.’ Whatever else the term covers, it applies at a minimum to prior testimony at a preliminary hearing, before a grand jury, or at a former trial; and to police interrogations.” Crawford, 124 S. Ct. at 1374. [5] We conclude that the warrant of deportation is nontestimonial because it was not made in anticipation of litigation, and because it is simply a routine, objective, cataloging of an unambiguous factual matter. In United States v. HernandezRojas, 617 F.2d 533, 535 (9th Cir. 1980), we held that a warrant of deportation “has none of the features of the subjective report made by a law enforcement official in an on-the-scene investigation, which investigative reports lack sufficient guarantees of trustworthiness because they are made in an adversary setting and likely to be used in litigation.” Indeed, “[t]he notation that [defendant] was deported to Mexico was a ministerial, objective observation, which has inherent reliability because of the Government’s need to keep accurate records of the movement of aliens.” Id. Additionally, in United States v. Contreras, 63 F.3d 852, 857 (9th Cir. 1995), we echoed this reasoning, holding that “the notation on an I-205 form [warrant of deportation] indicating that an alien has left the country is a routine, objective, indeed mechanical recording of an 7006 UNITED STATES v. BAHENA-CARDENAS unambiguous factual matter.” In this sense, the warrant of deportation is no different than a birth certificate or any other public record which constitutes the routine cataloguing of an unambiguous factual matter. Surely Crawford did not mean to require the doctor or nurse who actually filled out a birth certificate to testify as to its veracity. We hold that the warrant of deportation in this case is nontestimonial and thus admissible. Accordingly, the government provided sufficient evidence of physical removal.
Bahena-Cardenas argues that there was insufficient evidence for a jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that he was not a United States citizen. “This sufficiency-of-the-evidence challenge can succeed only if, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, no rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” U.S. v. Lo, 231 F.3d 471, 475 (9th Cir. 2000). However, this inquiry does not require a court to ask itself whether it believes that the evidence at the trial established guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Instead, the relevant question is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 318-319 (1979) (emphasis in original) (citing Johnson v. Louisiana, 406 U.S. 356, 362 (1972)). We have held that “[t]his familiar standard gives full play to the responsibility of the trier of fact fairly to resolve conflicts in the testimony, to weigh the evidence, and to draw reasonable inferences from basic facts to ultimate facts.” Jackson, 443 U.S. at 319. UNITED STATES v. BAHENA-CARDENAS 7007 The government’s evidence to support its claim of alienage consisted of (1) a Mexican birth certificate obtained by Bahena-Cardenas’ father when he was 13; (2) elementary and secondary school records from American schools that listed Mexico as his place of birth; (3) a 1985 certificate of baptism issued in the United States listing his birthplace as Mexico; and (4) evidence of deportation. In his defense, BahenaCardenas introduced (1) additional certificates of baptism from a church in the United States signed by different pastors in 1988 and 1989 that showed his birth place as San Diego; (2) a Mexican tourist visa typically issued to American citizens traveling to Mexico; (3) a hospital admission record indicating a California birthplace; (4) a voter registration card issued after deportation proceedings began, (5) social security records; (6) a student eligibility report from 1982-83 listing his citizenship as American; (7) a birth certificate issued in 1988 showing that Bahena-Cardenas was born at home in San Diego; and (8) testimony from his mother and a family friend that Bahena-Cardenas was born at home in San Diego. [6] The jury resolved the conflicting evidence in the government’s favor and concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant was not a United States citizen. While the evidence was contradictory on this point, contradictory evidence alone does not require us to find that no rational jury could have made such a finding. It is the responsibility of the jury to resolve conflicts in the testimony, to weigh the evidence, and to draw reasonable inferences. That the jury found the defendant guilty shows that the jury rejected or found unconvincing the contrary evidence. As the Supreme Court held in Johnson, 406 U.S. at 362 (internal citations omitted): Jury verdicts finding guilt beyond a reasonable doubt are regularly sustained even though the evidence was such that the jury would have been justified in having a reasonable doubt; even though the trial judge might not have reached the same conclusion as the jury; and even though appellate judges are closely 7008 UNITED STATES v. BAHENA-CARDENAS divided on the issue whether there was sufficient evidence to support a conviction. After viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, we conclude that a rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.