Hernandez-Castro
United States v. Hernandez-Castro
Opinion
Opinion
McKeown, J.
FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 06-10074 Plaintiff-Appellee, v. D.C. No.
CR-04-00460-LDG
ESTEBAN HERNANDEZ-CASTRO,
OPINION
Defendant-Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Nevada Lloyd D. George, District Judge, Presiding
Argued and Submitted November 14, 2006—San Francisco, California
Filed January 12, 2007
Before: A. Wallace Tashima and M. Margaret McKeown, Circuit Judges, and David O. Carter,* District Judge.
Opinion by Judge McKeown
*The Honorable David O. Carter, United States District Judge for the Central District of California, sitting by designation. COUNSEL
Rene L. Valladares, Assistant Federal Public Defender (argued), Arthur L. Allen, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Las Vegas, Nevada, for the appellant.
Ray Gattinella, Assistant United States Attorney, Las Vegas, Nevada, for the appellee.
OPINION
McKEOWN, Circuit Judge:
Under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f), known as the “safety valve” provision, a defendant may be sentenced below the applicable statutory minimum if certain…