United States v. Jesus Torres-Miguel
2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 25481
| 4th Cir. | 2012Background
- Torres-Miguel pled guilty to one count of illegal reentry by an aggravated felon under 8 U.S.C. §§ 1326(a),(b)(2).
- District court applied a sixteen-level enhancement based on a prior California § 422(a) threat conviction, treating it as a crime of violence under § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(ii).
- PSR calculated a 51–71 month range; district court imposed 51 months at the low end of the enhanced range.
- Torres-Miguel contested the enhancement on appeal, challenging the predicate crime of violence classification.
- Court proceeds under de novo review for legal questions, deferring to factual findings only for clear error.
- Court vacates the sentence and remands for resentencing because § 422(a) is not categorically a crime of violence under the Guidelines.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether §422(a) is a crime of violence under §2L1.2. | Torres-Miguel: not categorically a crime of violence. | Government: §422(a) qualifies as a crime of violence. | Not categorically; remand for resentencing. |
| Whether the modified categorical approach applies to §422(a). | Not applicable given non-divisible statute. | Applicable; record shows underlying conduct. | Not applicable; cannot apply modified approach. |
Key Cases Cited
- Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575 (1990) (defines generic approach for predicate offenses and final withholding)
- United States v. Seay, 553 F.3d 732 (4th Cir. 2009) (categorical approach to state convictions for violence)
- Shepard v. United States, 544 U.S. 13 (2005) (permitted examination of judicial records for the crime’s basis)
- United States v. Gomez, 690 F.3d 194 (4th Cir. 2012) (divisible-offense requirement for modified categorical approach)
- United States v. Diaz-Ibarra, 522 F.3d 343 (4th Cir. 2008) (clarifies plain-language/listed-crime framework)
- Villavicencio-Burruel v. United States, 608 F.3d 556 (9th Cir. 2010) (held §422(a) categorically a crime of violence (in conflict with panel))
- Gonzales v. Duenas-Alvarez, 549 U.S. 183 (2007) (listed-crime context for applying Duenas-Alvarez)
- Cruz-Rodriguez v. United States, 625 F.3d 274 (5th Cir. 2010) (threat-based statutes not necessarily use-of-force crimes)
- Perez-Vargas v. United States, 414 F.3d 1282 (10th Cir. 2005) (non-use-of-force offenses not categorically violence)
- Chrzanoski v. Ashcroft, 327 F.3d 188 (2d Cir. 2003) (differentiates injury-causing conduct from use-of-force elements)
- Dalton v. Ashcroft, 257 F.3d 200 (2d Cir. 2001) (examples of non-force-based injury-enhancing crimes)