United States v. Juan Mendez-Sosa

Juan Alberto Mendez-Sosa appeals from the district court’s sentence of thirty-seven months in prison. The court imposed this sentence after Mendez-Sosa pled guilty to violating 8 U.S.C. § 1326 (a), which prohibits unauthorized reentry into the United • States after deportation. In applying the federal sentencing guidelines, the district judge assessed a 16-level sentencing enhancement because she concluded that Mendez-Sosa was previously convicted of Criminal Sexual Contact under New Jersey law, an offense which the judge concluded was a “crime of violence” under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(ii). On appeal, Mendez-Sosa argues the 16-level enhancement was improper for two reasons. First, he argues that he was never “convicted” of the prior offense as that term is defined by either New Jersey law or the Immigration and Nationality Act. Second, he argues that even if he had been convicted of the prior offense, it was not a “crime of violence.” We affirm.

I.

We review de novo the district court’s selection of the applicable definition of the term “conviction,” as well as the court’s application of that term to the facts. See United States v. Leal-Felix, 665 F.3d 1037, 1040…