United States v. Luis Hernandez-Sanches

Luis Hernandez-Sanches appeals the forty-two-month sentence imposed following his guilty plea to being a deported alien found in the United States in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326 . The presentence report recommended a two-level upward adjustment to Hernandez-Sanches’s criminal history score under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines § 4Al.l(d) because HernandezSanches was under a criminal justice sentence at the time of the offense. Hernandez-Sanehes objected to the adjustment, arguing that he was not under a “violation warrant” within the meaning of the relevant Guidelines application note. See U.S.S.G. § 4A1.1 cmt. n. 4 (“A defendant who commits the instant offense while a violation warrant from a prior sentence is outstanding (e.g., a probation, parole, or supervised release violation warrant) shall be deemed to be under a criminal justice sentence for the purposes of this provision!)]”) (emphases added). The district court did not make an explicit finding about whether Hernandez-Sanehes was subject to a violation warrant, as opposed to a warrant for a new crime, because it took the view that “a warrant is a warrant” for federal sentencing purposes.

Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure…