United States v. Alejandro Ramirez-Lopez

MEMORANDUM

Alejandro Ramirez-Lopez appeals from the district court’s judgment and challenges the 46-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for importation of marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 952 and 960. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we vacate and remand for resentencing.

Ramirez-Lopez argues that the district court erred in denying a minor role reduction to his base offense level under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2(b). After Ramirez-Lopez was sentenced, the United States Sentencing Commission issued Amendment 794 (“the Amendment”), which amended the commentary to the minor role Guideline. The Amendment is retroactive to cases pending on direct appeal. See United States v. Quintero-Leyva, 823 F.3d 519, 523 (9th Cir. 2016).

The Amendment clarified that, in assessing whether a defendant should receive a minor role adjustment, the court should compare him to the other participants in the crime, rather than to a hypothetical average participant, See U.S.S.G. App. C. Amend. 794; Quintero-Leyva, 823 F.3d at 523 . In addition, the Amendment clarified that “[t]he fact that a defendant performs an essential or indispensable role in the criminal…