United States v. Victor Alba-Suarez

MEMORANDUM

Defendant Victor Manuel Alba-Suarez challenges the district court’s application of a 16-level sentencing enhancement based on his prior conviction of sexual battery by restraint in violation of California Penal Code § 243.4(a). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1291 and 1294(1). We review de novo the district court’s determination that a prior conviction qualifies as a “crime of violence” pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(l)(A). United States v. Grajeda, 581 F.3d 1186, 1188 (9th Cir.2009). We affirm.

I

Courts apply the categorical approach set forth in Taylor v. United States to determine whether a prior conviction qualifies as a forcible sex offense and therefore a crime of violence under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(l)(A). 495 U.S. 575, 600 , 110 S.Ct. 2143 , 109 L.Ed.2d 607 (1990). Under this approach, “sentencing courts compare the elements of the statute of conviction with a federal definition of the crime to determine whether conduct proscribed by the statute is broader than the generic federal definition.” United States v. Caceres-Olla, 738 F.3d 1051, 1054 (9th Cir.2013) (internal quotation marks omitted). “If the statute of conviction ‘sweeps more broadly…