United States v. Hermilo Zamudio

Zamudio was convicted of violating 8 U.S.C. § 1326 , which prohibits a deported alien from being “found in” the United States after reentering without permission. Zamudio now appeals from his conviction, arguing that the underlying removal proceeding violated his due process rights, that the district court erred in failing to instruct the jury on a constructive knowledge theory for Zamudio’s statute of limitations defense, and that the evidence presented to the jury proved his statute of limitations defense as a matter of law. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

I.

Zamudio was born in Mexico and came to the United States as a teenager. He subsequently became a legal permanent resident by virtue of his marriage to a United States citizen. In 1994 Zamudio pleaded guilty to kidnapping in violation of California Penal Code § 207(a) and was sentenced to three years in prison. In 1999 Zamudio was arrested and charged with felony possession of methamphetamine pursuant to California Health and Safety Code § 11377(a) and with misdemeanor possession of marijuana pursuant to § 11357(b). The marijuana charge was dismissed and Zamudio pleaded guilty to…