United States v. Alfred Mendieta
683 F. App'x 337
| 5th Cir. | 2017Background
- Alfred Arroyo Mendieta convicted of possession with intent to distribute cocaine base in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 and had supervised-release revoked under 18 U.S.C. § 3583(e).
- Sentencing Guidelines ranges: 37–46 months for the new offense; 24–30 months for revocation.
- District court applied an upward departure under U.S.S.G. § 4A1.3 based on numerous prior convictions that did not score under the Guidelines.
- Court imposed 78 months’ imprisonment for the new conviction and a consecutive 36 months for the revocation (both above guideline ranges).
- Mendieta appealed, arguing the upward departure was procedurally erroneous and that the sentences were substantively unreasonable; he conceded he did not raise the departure below, so plain-error review applies.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Procedural error in upward departure under § 4A1.3 | Departure was improper and procedurally erroneous | District court permissibly departed because criminal-history category under‑represented seriousness | No clear or obvious error; departure justified under § 4A1.3 |
| Substantive reasonableness of sentence | Sentence is substantively unreasonable (overly long) | Sentence advances § 3553(a) objectives and is supported by facts | Sentence is reasonable under abuse-of-discretion/plain‑error review |
| Review standard for unpreserved upward-departure claim | (N/A) Mendieta conceded plain-error review applies | Government invoked plain-error standard; cited precedent | Plain-error standard applies; Mendieta failed to satisfy it |
| Challenge to empirical basis of Guideline § 2D1.1 | Guideline § 2D1.1 lacks empirical grounding, affecting reasonableness | Prior precedent rejects that challenge for reasonableness attacks | Rejected; precedent supports use of § 2D1.1 |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Broussard, 669 F.3d 537 (5th Cir. 2012) (plain-error review for unpreserved sentencing claims)
- Puckett v. United States, 556 U.S. 129 (2009) (standard for plain-error relief)
- United States v. Zuniga-Peralta, 442 F.3d 345 (5th Cir. 2006) (upward departure under § 4A1.3 review)
- Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38 (2007) (abuse-of-discretion standard for substantive reasonableness)
- United States v. Miller, 634 F.3d 841 (5th Cir. 2011) (preservation and review of reasonableness claims)
- United States v. Duarte, 569 F.3d 528 (5th Cir. 2009) (rejection of challenge to § 2D1.1 empirical basis)