United States v. Carlos Mendoza-Padilla, 833 F.3d 1156

Defendant Carlos Mendoza-Padilla pled guilty in 2014 to illegal re-entry after deportation (8 U.S.C. § 1326); he had a 2003 Florida manslaughter conviction.
Probation applied U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(ii) and added a 16-level enhancement because manslaughter is listed in the Guidelines’ Application Notes as a “crime of violence.”
Mendoza-Padilla objected, arguing Florida manslaughter permits only negligence-based culpability and therefore does not match the generic federal manslaughter (which at most includes recklessness).
The district court overruled the objection and imposed a 57-month sentence; Mendoza-Padilla appealed.
The Ninth Circuit examined whether Florida’s manslaughter statute (§ 782.07(1)) requires a mens rea at least equivalent to recklessness or whether it criminalizes conduct below that threshold (e.g., culpable negligence).
The court concluded Florida manslaughter is broader than generic manslaughter because Florida law allows convictions based on less than recklessness (illustrated by longstanding Florida precedent and “single punch” cases), so the 16-level enhancement was improper.

Issue	Mendoza-Padilla's Argument	Government's Argument	Held
Whether Florida manslaughter (§ 782.07) qualifies as a “crime of violence” under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(ii) (thereby triggering a 16-level enhancement)	Florida manslaughter requires only culpable negligence (less than recklessness) and thus exceeds the generic federal definition of manslaughter, so it is not a crime of violence	Manslaughter is enumerated in the Guidelines; Florida manslaughter at minimum requires culpable negligence equivalent to recklessness, so the enhancement applies	The Ninth Circuit held Florida manslaughter is broader than generic manslaughter (allows mens rea below recklessness), so it does not qualify as a “crime of violence” for § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(ii); sentence vacated and remanded for resentencing.

Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575 (categorical approach for comparing prior offenses to generic definitions)
Descamps v. United States, 133 S. Ct. 2276 (modified categorical approach limited to divisible statutes)
United States v. Parnell, 818 F.3d 974 (Ninth Circuit discussion of categorical/modified approach)
United States v. Rodriguez-Guzman, 506 F.3d 738 (enumerated offenses in Application Notes treated as per se crimes of violence under prior precedent)
United States v. Gomez-Leon, 545 F.3d 777 (definition of generic manslaughter and recklessness standard)
United States v. Garcia-Perez, 779 F.3d 278 (Fifth Circuit holding Florida manslaughter exceeds generic manslaughter)
Montgomery v. State, 39 So. 3d 252 (Fla. S. Ct. interpretation of manslaughter by act and its elements)