In U.S. v. Diaz Calderone, the defendant was convicted and sentenced for the federal crime of being found in the United States after having been deported. The issue here is whether a prior Florida aggravated battery conviction should be classified as a “crime of violence” under the sentencing guidelines to…
Sandra Day O’Connor sat on this panel also. The opinion was written by Judge Pryor. In U.S. v. Garcia-Sandobal, the defendant, citizen of Honduras, entered the United States illegally and committed a variety of crimes. After he was deported in 1998, he reentered illegally, and committed more crimes, including a…
In U.S. v. Jimenez, the 11th Circuit addressed a federal sentencing guidelines issue involving grouping counts. The district court grouped Jimenez’s conviction for illegal reentry after deportation and his conviction for firearm possession by an illegal alien, giving him more jail time. The 11th Circuit denied Jimenez’s challenge and held…
Again the 11th Circuit addressed a common sentencing issue facing Miami federal criminal courts as well as federal courts nationwide: whether a prior offense is considered a crime of violence under the sentencing guidelines. Defining a crime as a crime of violence will determine whether a defendant will receive an…
Deportation is always a common problem for alien criminal defendants in Miami and other parts of Florida who a convicted of a crime. In U.S. v. Figueroa-Sanchez, the 11th Circuit faced two issues: 1) whether the district court properly denied defendant’s 2255 motion for federal habeas post-conviction relief as successive,…
In U.S. v Acuna-Reyna, the 11th Circuit held an uncounseled misdemeanor conviction resulting in probation and a fine would still be counted for criminal history points under the guidelines. The defendant was convicted of illegal reentry after deportation and at his sentencing he was assessed a criminal history point for…
Defendant McQueen was convicted of attempted alien smuggling and failing to obey an order by federal saw enforcement to heave to the U.S. Customs and Boarder Patrol (CBP) vessel (18 U.S.C. 2237(a)(1). His sentence was enhanced by sentencing guidelines section 2L1.1(b)(5)(A) because a firearm was discharged by law enforcement in…
In this unusual result, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeal reversed a conviction and dismissed the case because it found the government would be legally barred from proving a crucial element of the offense. The defendant in U.S. v Valdiviez-Garza was convicted in the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Florida,…
In U.S. v. Martinez-Gonzalez, the defendant appealed the 24 month sentence he received for illegal reentry into the U.S. after having been deported. What led to his deportation was his felony conviction in Alabama for possession of forged instruments – a forged permanent resident card and a forged Social Security…
A professional sports agent, the defendant in U.S. v. Dominguez was charged and convicted of smuggling 5 Cuban baseball players to the United States, transporting them from Miami to Los Angeles, and then harboring them there until they applied for asylum. Dominguez represented over 100 baseball players, many of whom…