United States v. Isai Saaib

MEMORANDUM

Isai Jose Saaib (“Saaib”) appeals his conviction and sentence for bringing in illegal aliens for financial gain and bringing in illegal aliens without presentation, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324 (a)(2)(B)(ii) & (iii).

“As a general rule, we do not review challenges to the effectiveness of defense counsel on direct appeal,” and neither of the “extraordinary exceptions” to that rule applies here. United States v. Labrada-Bustamante, 428 F.3d 1252, 1260 (9th Cir.2005) (internal quotation marks and brackets omitted).

There was no abuse of discretion in giving Ninth Circuit Model Jury Instruction 3.9, a general instruction on how juries should evaluate witness credibility, rather than Model Instruction 4.9, which governs “Testimony of Witnesses Involving Special Circumstances — Immunity, Benefits, Accomplice, Plea.” The district court properly recognized that the material witness — the alien found in Saaib’s vehicle — was not an accomplice to the crime who could have been indicted for the same offense as an accessory or principal. Guam v. Dela Rosa, 644 F.2d 1257, 1260-61 (9th Cir.1981) (per curiam). Nor did the district court clearly err by finding there was no…