United States v. Francisco Hernandez-Rojas

After a jury trial, Francisco Hernandez-Rojas was convicted of violating 8 U.S.C. § 1326 , illegal reentry into the United States after having been previously deported. On appeal, Hernandez raises a number of evidentiary objections. We find that none of these objections have merit and affirm the judgment of conviction.

I.

The Government’s Exhibit One included a warrant of deportation, which contained the dated notation “deported to Mexico, Calexico, California,” and was signed by a United States Immigration Officer. The Government offered this exhibit to establish Hernandez’s prior deportation, one of the material elements of a § 1326 violation. Hernandez contends the exhibit should have been excluded from evidence as inadmissible hearsay.

The Government argues that, although hearsay, the exhibit falls within the “public records” exception to the hearsay rule, Fed.R.Evid. 803(8)(B). Rule 803(8)(B) makes admissible records, reports, statements, or data compilations of public offices or agencies setting forth “matters observed pursuant to duty imposed by law as to which matters there was a duty to report, excluding, however, in criminal cases matters observed by police officers…