Tapia-Romero
United States v. Tapia-Romero
Opinion
Opinion
Background
Felipe Daniel Tapia-Romero pled guilty to being an illegal alien found in the United States after deportation. At sentenc- ing, defense counsel argued that the district court should con- sider imposing a shorter term of imprisonment due to the cost of imprisoning Tapia-Romero. Defense counsel argued that this cost was a factor the court had to consider under
1 We address the other issues Tapia-Romero raises in an accompanying memorandum disposition. 4724 UNITED STATES v. TAPIA-ROMERO U.S.C. § 3553(a) in determining the length of Tapia- Romero’s term of imprisonment.
The district court concluded that the cost of imprisonment was not an appropriate consideration under § 3553(a), explaining: “I don’t really think that’s for an Article III judge[ ] to decide to save the system money, is it? It’s an excellent argument. I just don’t think that’s really something that I should be considering.” Tapia-Romero appeals this decision of the district court.
Standard of Review
By asserting that the district court misinterpreted § 3553(a), Tapia-Romero raises a question of statutory interpretation. We review such questions de novo. See United States v.…