U.S. v. Mata-Lara

• Decision Date: 29 November 2007
• Docket Number: No. 07-CR-92-LRR.,07-CR-92-LRR.
• Citation: 527 F.Supp.2d 887
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. Hector MATA-LARA, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Iowa

527 F.Supp.2d 887

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. Hector MATA-LARA, Defendant.

No. 07-CR-92-LRR.

United States District Court, N.D. Iowa, Cedar Rapids Division.

November 29, 2007.

Richard. L. Murphy, U.S. Attorney's Office, Cedar Rapids, IA, for Plaintiff.

ORDER

LINDA R. READE, Chief Judge.

                TABLE OF CONTENTS
                I. INTRODUCTION 888
                II. RELEVANT PRIOR PROCEEDINGS 889
                III. FACTUAL BACKGROUND 889
                IV. ANALYSIS 890
                A. Authority to Entertain the Motion 890
                1. Request to determine the elements of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1) 890
                2. Request to dismiss Counts 3 and 5 of the Indictment 892
                B. Determination of the Elements of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1) 893
                V. DISPOSITION 896
                

I. INTRODUCTION

The matter before the court is Defendant Hector Mata-Lara's "Combined Motion to Dismiss Counts 3 and 5 and Motion for Legal Ruling on Elements of Offense" ("Motion") (docket no. 12).

II. RELEVANT PRIOR PROCEEDINGS

On October 2, 2007, Defendant was charged in a five-count Indictment. Count 1 charges Defendant with Making a False Statement on an 1-9 Form to Obtain Unlawful Employment, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1015(e). Counts 2 and 4 charge Defendant with Using a False Identification Document to Obtain Unlawful Employment, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1546(b). Counts 3 and 5 charge Defendant with Aggravated Identity Theft, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1).

On November 1, 2007, Defendant filed the Motion. On November 16, 2007, the government filed a Resistance.

On November 19, 2007, the parties entered into a Plea Agreement ("Plea Agreement") (docket no. 23-2). Defendant agreed to plead guilty to Counts 1, 2 and 3 of the Indictment. The Plea Agreement is silent as to Counts 4 and 5.

On November 20, 2007, Defendant appeared before an United States Magistrate Judge and pled guilty to Counts 1, 2 and 3. Defendant's plea as to Count 3 was conditional, pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11(a)(2). Defendant contemporaneously reserved the right to appeal an adverse ruling on the Motion. The court has not yet accepted Defendant's guilty pleas, and this case remains set for trial on December 3, 2007.

III. FACTUAL BACKGROUND¹

The Plea Agreement contains a stipulation of facts. See Plea Agreement at ¶¶ 20(A)-(F).² The parties agree that the following facts are true:

Defendant was born in Mexico on February 6, 1989. Plea Agreement at ¶ 20(A). Defendant's true name is Hector Manuel Mata-Lara. Id.

On or about March 15, 2007, Defendant entered the United States with the help of a smuggler. Id. at ¶ 20(B). Prior to his entry, Defendant did not have the authorization or consent of the Attorney General or his successor, the Secretary of Homeland Security. Id.

On about April 12, 2007, Defendant applied for a job through Advance Services, Inc., in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Id. at ¶ 20(C). During the application process, Defendant completed an I-9 form in the name of "Oracio Garcia." Id. Defendant checked a box on the I-9 form to indicate that he was "[a] citizen or national of the United States," which he knew to be untrue. Id. Defendant signed the form under penalty of perjury. Id. Defendant's immigration status was a material fact to be included on the I-9 form. Id. Prospective employees are required to compete the I-9 form, and employers are required to maintain it. Id.

Defendant also displayed a social security card, ending in the digits "3126," and a California identification card, ending in the digits "5487," in order to obtain employment through Advance Services, Inc. Id. Both the social security card and the California identification card were in the name of "Oracio Garcia." Id. Defendant' intentionally did not obtain documents in his true name, because he was in the country illegally and feared use of his true name could lead to detection of his immigration status. Id.

Defendant knew that the social security card and the California identification card were false documents. Id. He knew that neither card had been issued lawfully for his use. Defendant intentionally did not investigate to whom the identities and identification numbers belonged. Id. In fact, both documents belonged to another person. Id.

On or about July 29, 2007, Defendant applied for a job at Villa's Patio and Mexican Restaurant in Marion, Iowa. Id. at ¶ 20(D). Defendant displayed the same social security card and California identification cards bearing the name of "Oracio Garcia" that he provided to Advance Services, Inc. Id. Again, Defendant displayed such cards for the purpose of obtaining employment and knowing that they were false and not issued lawfully for his use. Id.

On about September 27, 2007, several agents with Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") were trying to find another individual near Defendant's apartment complex in Cedar Rapids. Id. at ¶ 20(E). The ICE agents asked Defendant if he knew this individual, and Defendant stated "no." Id. The ICE agents then asked Defendant about his citizenship status. Id. Defendant admitted he was in the United States illegally, and the ICE agents administratively arrested him. Id.

IV. ANALYSIS

In the Motion, Defendant asks the court to (1) declare the elements of Aggravated Identity Theft, 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1), and (2) dismiss Counts 3 and 5 of the Indictment.³ The government contends that the Motion is premature and, in the alternative, resists the entirety of the Motion on its merits. The court considers the parties' arguments, in turn.

A. Authority to Entertain the Motion

1. Request to determine the elements of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1)

Defendant contends that Rule 12(b)(2) provides the court with the authority determine of the elements of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1) at this stage in the proceedings. Rule 12(b)(2) provides:

Rule 12. Pleadings and Pretrial Motions

* * * * * *

(b) Pretrial Motions.

* * * * * *

(2) Motions That May Be Made Before Trial. A party may raise by pretrial motion any defense, objection, or request that the court can determine without a trial of the general issue.

Fed.R.Crim.P. 12(b)(2) (emphasis in original).

Although there are no Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals cases on point, the undersigned has repeatedly held in a series of unpublished orders that Rule 12(b)(2) authorizes the court to determine the elements of a charged offense. See, e.g., United States v. Aguilar-Morales, No. 07-CR-75-LRR, 2007 WL 2903189, *1 (N.D.Iowa Oct. 2, 2007); United States v. Ordonez-Alquijay, No. 07-CR-54-LRR, 2007 WL 2710805, *1 (N.D.Iowa Sept. 13, 2007); United States v. Garcia-Xclhua, No. 07-CR-10-15-LRR, 2007 WL 2710801, *1 (N.D.Iowa Sept. 13, 2007). After the undersigned issued such orders, the Honorable Mark W. Bennett, the other active district court judge in this District reached the same conclusion. See, e.g., United States v. Salazar-Montero, 520 F.Supp.2d 1079, 1083-85 (N.D.Iowa 2007). The undersigned adopts the analyses in these decisions and again holds that Rule 12(b)(2) authorizes the court to determine the elements of an charged offense before trial. Four additional points must be emphasized:

First, the plain language of Rule 12(b)(2) authorizes the Motion. Rule 12(b)(2) states that "a party may raise by pretrial motion any ... request that the court can determine without a trial of the general issue." Fed.R.Crim.P. 12(b)(2). "[T]he general issue" is whether the defendant is guilty of the charged offenses. See, e.g., United States v. Cline, 362 F.3d 343, 349 (6th Cir.2004) ("Determining the legal meaning of [a domestic violence order] did not require trial of the general issue of guilt on any count and thus did not invade the province of the jury."); United States v. Suescun, 237 F.3d 1284, 1286 (11th Cir. 2001) (defining "trial of the general issue" as "whether [the defendant] was guilty of the charged offenses"). Insofar as Defendant asks the court to determine the elements of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1), a ruling on the Motion does not require "a trial of the general issue." Fed.R.Crim.P. 12(b)(2). Such a determination is purely a matter of statutory construction, in which the court focuses on the language of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1) and need not make any factual findings.

Second, the court disagrees with the government's argument that a pretrial determination of the elements "is pre-mature and amounts to a request for an impermissible advisory opinion or declaratory judgment." Brief in Support of Resistance (docket 14-2), at 2. While a determination of the elements of an offense is advisory in the sense that it informs the Defendant of the elements of the crimes under which he is charged, such a declaration is not impermissibly advisory in the relevant constitutional sense. It cannot be disputed that there is an Article III "case or controversy" before the court: Defendant is charged with federal crimes and faces a substantial amount of time in a federal prison. The relevant constitutional inquiry is whether determination of the elements of one of those crimes will affect Defendant's behavior. See Hewitt v. Helms, 482 U.S. 755, 761, 107 S.Ct. 2672, 96 L.Ed.2d 654 (1987) ("The real value of the judicial pronouncement-what makes it a proper judicial resolution of a `case or controversy' rather than an advisory opinion-is the settling of some dispute which affects the behavior of the defendant towards the plaintiff." (Emphasis in original.)). A pretrial determination of the elements of 18 U.S.C. § 1028A(a)(1) will undoubtedly affect Defendant's trial strategy.

Third, there is little risk that motions to determine the elements of charged offenses will clog the courts. Defendants are likely to file such motions only when there is a relatively new criminal statute that appellate courts have not had much time to digest; where the elements of a crime are well-settled, Defendants are unlikely to ask the court to state the obvious.⁴ In the event that motions to determine the elements of charged offenses are imprudently filed, the court retains the discretion to defer...