Court Opinion

ID: 9492791
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 14:50:39.819827+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:55:29.829120
License: Public Domain

KING, Chief Judge,
dissenting:
I respectfully dissent. I would affirm Principe’s sentence.
The PSR applied § 2L2.1 of the Sentencing Guidelines. Principe objected, arguing that the nature of the fraudulent documents alleged in the counts of conviction required the application of § 2L2.2. An Addendum to the PSR explained the rationale for application of § 2L2.1 as follows:
The probation office supports the guideline computations in the Presen-tence Report and the application of USSG § 2L2.1 to determine the defendant’s offense level computations. In determining what guideline would be most appropriate, the probation officer did not consider relevant conduct in this case, which consisted of the other documents found at the defendant’s residence when the search warrant was executed. The probation office determined that the application of USSG § 2L2.1 was the appropriate guideline based on the defendant becoming an Unlawful [sic] Permanent Resident of the United States on June 9, 1997. The defendant had in her purse three fraudulent alien registration cards and two fraudulent social security cards. As mentioned in the Presentence Report, the fraudulent alien registration cards found in the names of Laura Castanon and Victoria Rodriguez had the defendant’s photograph. The defendant had no reason to possess fraudulent alien registration cards in the two female names, since she was a Lawful Permanent Resident of the United States. A copy of the fraudulent alien registration receipt card in the name Victoria Rodriguez had an expiration date of August 5, 2001. The fraud*855ulent alien registration receipt card in the name Laura Castanon had an expiration date of April 3, 2001. Based on the aforementioned, there was no reason for the defendant to be in possession of the fraudulent documents, and it is more difficult to believe that the defendant possessed those documents for her own use. Thus, the application of USSG § 2L2.1 is appropriate.
The district court, in overruling Principe’s objections, said only that it accepted the government’s arguments that the photo could be used by someone else who resembled Principe and also could be used by her in helping other aliens illegally enter the United States.1 That conclusion is amply supported by those portions of the PSR and its Addendum and of the testimony of the agent that focused on the counts of conviction.
It is no answer to this case to limit the inquiry to the indictment, the plea agreement and the factual résumé because none of those answers the question ivhy Principe possessed the two fraudulent alien registration cards. That question has to be answered before a decision can be made as to which of the two Guidelines sections is the most appropriate. The Addendum and the testimony of the INS agent offered three possible reasons why Principe possessed the cards. Those reasons do not draw on Principe’s activities that fall into the category of relevant conduct; they draw only on the evidence for the counts of conviction. The district court accepted two of those three reasons, and the two accepted dictated the application of § 2L2.1. In view of the fact that Principe was a lawful permanent resident and had no immediate need for a fraudulent registration card, it’s hard for me to fault the district court’s factual conclusion that she possessed the cards for use by someone else resembling her or for helping other aliens illegally enter the United States. That’s the end of it as far as I am concerned. 1 ■ •

. In stating that the district court considered the INS agent’s testimony and all of the references in the PSR to the other fraudulent documents retrieved from Principe’s residence, the panel majority suggests that those items formed the basis of the district court’s conclusion to apply § 2L2.1. There is absolutely no indication in the district court's explanation for its decision that supports that suggestion.