Mejia-Pimental

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,  No. 05-30604 Plaintiff-Appellee, D.C. No. v.  CR-99-00147-001-

BRIJIDO MEJIA-PIMENTAL, RBL

Defendant-Appellant.  OPINION

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington Ronald B. Leighton, District Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted October 18, 2006—Seattle, Washington

Filed February 26, 2007

Before: Dorothy W. Nelson, David R. Thompson, and Richard A. Paez, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge Paez COUNSEL

Peggy Sue Juergens, Seattle, Washington, for the defendant- appellant. 2160 UNITED STATES v. MEJIA-PIMENTAL John McKay, United States Attorney, and Douglas James Hill, Assistant United States Attorney, Tacoma, Washington, for the plaintiff-appellee.

OPINION

PAEZ, Circuit Judge:

This case provides the occasion to explore the parameters of the statutory safety valve, which grants relief from certain mandatory minimum sentences when five criteria are met. See 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f). We have previously decided that the fifth…