United States v. Hernandez-Lara

The government appealed defendant's sentence for illegal reentry, contending that the district court miscalculated the Sentencing Guidelines range applicable to defendant because the district court concluded that defendant's 2009 burglary conviction under California Penal Code 459 did not qualify as a “crime of violence” as defined in 18 U.S.C.16(b). After the government filed its appeal, the court held in Dimaya v. Lynch that the definition of violence that appears in section 16(b) is unconstitutionally vague. The court held that section 16(b), as incorporated in USSG 2L1.2(b)(1)(C), is void for vagueness because the court was bound by Dimaya's holding and because the government offers the same arguments in favor of section 16(b)'s constitutionality that the court rejected in that decision. Accordingly, the court affirmed the sentence. View "United States v. Hernandez-Lara" on Justia Law