U.S. v. Leon-Alvarez

• Citation: 532 F.3d 815
• Decision Date: 27 June 2008
• Docket Number: No. 07-2146.,07-2146.
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Appellant, v. Gregorio LEON-ALVAREZ, also known as Guadalupe Almanza Jr., also known as Goyo, Appellee.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (8th Circuit)

532 F.3d 815

UNITED STATES of America, Appellant, v. Gregorio LEON-ALVAREZ, also known as Guadalupe Almanza Jr., also known as Goyo, Appellee.

No. 07-2146.

United States Court of Appeals, Eighth Circuit.

Submitted: January 16, 2008.

Filed: June 27, 2008.

Kevin C. Fletcher, AUSA, argued, Sioux City, IA, for appellant.

Jason M. Finch, argued, Kevin J. McCoy, on the brief, Omaha, NE, for appellee.

Before WOLLMAN, BRIGHT, and SMITH, Circuit Judges.

SMITH, Circuit Judge.

Gregorio Leon-Alvarez pleaded guilty, pursuant to a plea agreement, to conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine mixture¹ and to misusing employment eligibility verification.² As part of the plea agreement, the government dismissed eight other narcotics counts. At sentencing, Leon-Alvarez faced a mandatory minimum sentence of 60 months' imprisonment because of his prior convictions. The district court found that the Guidelines criminal history calculation was advisory and assessed Leon-Alvarez only one criminal history point despite his having two convictions. With only one criminal history point, Leon-Alvarez was eligible for safety-valve relief. The district court excluded one conviction and imposed a sentence of 37 months' imprisonment and 4 years of supervised release. The government appeals the district court's calculation of Leon-Alvarez's criminal history, arguing that such calculations are not discretionary. We reverse and remand for resentencing.

I. Background

Undercover law enforcement officers conducted controlled buys of drugs from Leon-Alvarez on several occasions in 1997 — November 10, 17, and December 15. On December 16, 1997, after the last controlled buy, the government filed a federal criminal complaint against Leon-Alvarez, charging him with distribution of methamphetamine.

Prior to the filing of the federal criminal complaint, Leon-Alvarez was convicted on state drug charges in the Woodbury County, Iowa District Court. The conviction was entered on November 4, 1997, and his sentencing was scheduled for December 19, 1997. Leon-Alvarez failed to appear for his state sentencing proceeding, and the government later determined that he had absconded to Mexico. Leon-Alvarez returned to the United States near the year 2000.

On March 9, 2005, in order to secure employment, Leon-Alvarez represented himself to be a United States citizen named Guadalupe Almanza, Jr. by signing an Immigration and Naturalization Employment Eligibility form with that name. Later that year, Leon-Alvarez was arrested on federal drug charges stemming from the 1997 drug transactions. Pursuant to a plea agreement, Leon-Alvarez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and to misusing employment eligibility verification.

Leon-Alvarez's presentence investigation report (PSR), showed that Leon-Alvarez had other convictions besides his 1997 state drug conviction. On August 17, 1992, Leon-Alvarez was convicted of larceny and carrying a concealed weapon. For both charges, he received a sentence of one year probation and was ordered to pay a fine and costs. On December 17, 1993, Leon-Alvarez was convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor³ after he was arrested while transporting an intoxicated minor in his automobile after curfew. For this conviction, he was sentenced to five hours in jail and ordered to pay a $40 fine.

The PSR recommended that the court count Leon-Alvarez's 1992 and 1993 convictions, yielding a two-point criminal history score. In the plea agreement, the parties agreed that Leon-Alvarez's base offense level was 26, and the government agreed to a three-level reduction for acceptance of responsibility, yielding a total offense level of 23. With a criminal history category of II, Leon-Alvarez faced a mandatory minimum of 60 months' imprisonment and an advisory range of 60 to 63 months.

The district court believed that a lengthy prison sentence would not further the policies of deterrence or rehabilitation. The court considered Leon-Alvarez's eligibility for safety-valve relief, which makes sentencing below a statutory mandatory minimum possible for some offenders. The district court gave Leon-Alvarez time to participate in a debriefing meeting with the government. Additionally, the district court treated the Guidelines instructions in Chapter Four regarding the counting of criminal history points for the purpose of applying the mandatory minimum statutes as only advisory.

In determining whether to count the 1993 conviction, the court was careful to note that contributing to the delinquency of a minor is not similar to the listed offenses, but it is "akin to ... those listed there." When the government asked for clarification, the court stated that it was not finding that contributing to the delinquency of a minor was similar to any offense in § 4A1.2(c)(1) — which would permit the district court not to count the offense under the Guidelines — rather the court explained that its decision not to count the conviction rested on the advisory nature of the Guidelines. The government argued, in opposition, that the advisory nature of the Guidelines does not grant courts broad latitude in calculating criminal history points. The court noted the government's objection for the record and proceeded with its criminal-history-point calculation.

After the court determined that the 1993 conviction would not be counted, Leon-Alvarez was assessed one criminal history point. Logically, Leon-Alvarez requested a safety-valve reduction, which the district court granted. Using a criminal history category of I and a total offense level of 21, the district court found the advisory Guidelines range to be 37 to 45 months' imprisonment.⁴ Ultimately, the district court imposed a sentence of 37 months' imprisonment and 4 years of supervised release.

II. Discussion

The government challenges Leon-Alvarez's sentence, arguing that the district court miscalculated his criminal history points and erroneously granted safety-valve relief. The district court excluded one of Leon-Alvarez's prior convictions when determining whether he was subject to a mandatory minimum sentence. Leon-Alvarez makes two arguments in rebuttal. First, the district court, in essence, found that the conviction and the listed offenses were similar under the Guidelines. Second, the Guidelines are merely advisory, thus, the district court did not err in refusing to assess a criminal history point for Leon-Alvarez's 1993 contributing to the delinquency of a minor conviction.

District courts may sentence below mandatory minimums, provided, among other things, that "the defendant does not have more than one criminal history point, as determined under the sentencing guidelines." 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)(1). The central issue in this case is whether the district court properly excluded Leon-Alvarez's conviction for contributing to the delinquency of a minor when calculating his criminal history points.

The Guidelines count all felonies and misdemeanors for purposes of calculating a criminal history score; however, they also list several convictions that do not count unless "the sentence was a term of probation of at least one year or a term of imprisonment of at least thirty days." U.S.S.G. § 4A1.2(c)(1). The Guidelines further state this same exclusion applies for offenses that are similar to the ones listed in § 4A1.2(c)(1). Leon-Alvarez's 1993 conviction qualified for exclusion if his offense was similar to those listed in U.S.S.G. § 4A1.2(c)(1) because he received only a five hour sentence and a $40.00 fine.

The district court found that Leon-Alvarez's prior convictions did not fit within 4A1.2(c)(1) but nonetheless did not count his 1993 conviction. The district court stated that Leon-Alvarez's contributing to the delinquency of a minor conviction was akin to the listed offenses, but also found that the conviction was not similar within the meaning of 4A1.2(c)(1). The court went further to state that such a finding would be a stretch and explained that its decision not to count the offense rested on its determination that the Guidelines, including the calculation of the criminal history points, are advisory.

We hold that the district court's refusal to count the 1993 conviction was reversible error. Under Gall v. United States, "a district court should begin all sentencing proceedings by correctly calculating the applicable Guidelines range." ___ U.S. ___, 128 S.Ct. 586, 596, 169 L.Ed.2d 445 (2007). Only after the Guidelines are correctly calculated should the district court decide whether to impose a sentence outside the range suggested by the Guidelines. Id. at 596-97. Moreover, the Supreme Court has recently explained the advisory nature of the Guidelines further and intimated that triggers for statutory mandatory minimums are different. See Kimbrough v. United States, ___ U.S. ___, 128 S.Ct. 558, 572, 169 L.Ed.2d 481 (2007) (holding that "[the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986] does not require ... sentencing courts to adhere to the 100-to-1 ratio for crack cocaine quantities other than those that trigger the statutory mandatory minimum sentences") (emphasis added).

We have not yet been called upon to decide whether the calculation of criminal history points is rendered advisory after Gall and Kimbrough. We note, however, that the Supreme Court has indicated that statutory mandatory minimums are unaffected by United States v. Booker, which reaffirmed that "[a]ny fact (other than a prior conviction) which is necessary to support a sentence exceeding the maximum authorized by the facts established by a plea of guilty or a jury verdict must be admitted by the defendant or proved to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt" 543 U.S. 220, 244, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005) (emphasis added). Further, several of our sister circuits have determined that the calculation of criminal history points is not advisory. United States v. Hernandez-Castro, 473 F.3d 1004,...