United States v. Leal-Felix
665 F.3d 1037
| 9th Cir. | 2010Background
- Israel Leal-Felix, a previously deported Mexican citizen, pled guilty to 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) for unlawful reentry after deportation (2005 deportation following firearm felony conviction).
- In March 2009 Leal-Felix reentered the U.S. and was found in the Central District of California; plea agreement set the sentence at the low end of the Guidelines range based on total offense level 9 and criminal history.
- Probation calculated Leal-Felix's criminal history at 14 points, including burglary (2001) and meth importing for sale (2008), with 2 points added for two 1998 driving violations (driving with suspended license).
- Two concurrent 180-day county jail sentences for the 1998 traffic violations were treated as prison sentences, contributing to the criminal history points.
- District court, following the plea, sentenced Leal-Felix to 21 months (low end of 21–27) with Criminal History Category VI.
- On appeal, Leal-Felix challenged the inclusion of the traffic violations as arrests for criminal-history calculation under U.S.S.G. § 4A1.2(a)(2); the government relied on Morgan to treat citations as arrests.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether a traffic citation is an 'arrest' for § 4A1.2(a)(2). | Leal-Felix argues citations are not arrests and cannot count as intervening arrests. | Leal-Felix's position relies on Morgan recognizing citations as arrests; Morgan treated traffic stops with citations as arrests for recidivism. | Yes; the court held that 'arrest' for § 4A1.2(a)(2) includes prior sentences based on arrests, including traffic-stop citations, so points were properly counted. |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Morgan, 354 F.3d 621 (7th Cir. 2003) (traffic stop with a citation counted as an arrest for recidivism purposes)
- Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806 (U.S. 1996) (temporary traffic-stop detention described in federal parlance)
- Knowles v. Iowa, 525 U.S. 113 (U.S. 1998) (distinguishes citation from arrest in traffic stops)
- Berkemer v. McCarty, 468 U.S. 420 (U.S. 1984) (arrest requires more than a routine traffic citation)
- United States v. Cruz-Gramajo, 570 F.3d 1162 (9th Cir. 2009) (plain-meaning approach to Guidelines; context of criminal history)