United States v. Rosales-Bruno
2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 6983
| 11th Cir. | 2012Background
- Rosales-Bruno pleaded guilty to one count of illegal reentry after deportation under 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a); he received an 87-month sentence.
- The district court increased his sentence under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(ii) based on his Florida false imprisonment conviction.
- The Florida offense § 787.02 can be committed with or without “physical force,” and some conduct is not a “crime of violence” under the Guidelines.
- The government relied on an arrest affidavit, an information, and a judgment to prove the prior conviction qualified as a “crime of violence.”
- Rosales-Bruno objected to the PSR facts about the false imprisonment conduct, challenging whether the conviction necessarily involved “physical force.”
- The Eleventh Circuit vacated the sentence and remanded for resentencing in light of the modified categorical approach and Shepard constraints.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Florida false imprisonment is a crime of violence | Rosales-Bruno argues Fla. § 787.02 can involve no physical force. | Rosales-Bruno contends the conviction does not necessarily involve physical force under federal law. | Not categorically a crime of violence; requires further showing under the modified approach. |
| Whether the Government showed the prior conviction necessarily rested on violent conduct | Government contends the charging docs and judgment show violence. | Defense disputes reliance on arrest affidavit and PSR as unreliable; insists no necessity shown. | Evidence insufficient; cannot rely on charges alone or arrest affidavit; must show necessity of violent conduct. |
| Whether reliance on PSR/ arrest affidavit violated Shepard requirements | Information and judgment suffice to prove crime of violence. | PSR and arrest affidavit are unreliable for this purpose post-Shepard. | Arrest affidavit rejected; PSR details contested but not controlling; cannot establish violence from those documents. |
Key Cases Cited
- Palomino-Garcia v. United States, 606 F.3d 1317 (11th Cir. 2010) (modified categorical approach for crime-of-violence inquiry)
- Johnson v. United States, 130 S. Ct. 1265 (2010) (defines physical force and its relation to violent felonies)
- Shepard v. United States, 544 U.S. 13 (S. Ct. 2005) (limits use of certain documents to establish the base offense facts)
- United States v. Harris, 586 F.3d 1283 (11th Cir. 2009) (de novo review of crime-of-violence qualification)
- Beckles v. United States, 565 F.3d 832 (11th Cir. 2009) (guideline error standard and reliance on PSR)
- Proko v. State, 566 So.2d 918 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1990) (false imprisonment requires some force but not necessarily physical force)
- Lamb v. State, 32 So.3d 117 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2009) (false imprisonment may not require physical force)
- Kalogeras v. State, 58 So.3d 889 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2011) (false imprisonment not necessarily violent under Florida law)
- Davis v. State, 20 So.3d 1024 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 2009) (false imprisonment can be accomplished without physical force)
- Insaulgarat v. United States, 378 F.3d 456 (5th Cir. 2004) (non-habitual violence in some Florida charges)