United States v. Ramon Ceja-Hernandez

Ceja-Hernandez pled guilty to being an illegal alien in the United States after deportation. His presentence report gave him a total offense level of six and a criminal history rating of VI resulting in a sentencing range of twelve to eighteen months. The district court departed upward and sentenced Ceja-Hernandez to twenty-four months. Ceja-Hernandez appeals his sentence.

We review the legality of a criminal sentence de novo. United States v. Cervantes-Lucatero, 889 F.2d 916, 917 (9th Cir.1989). The district court may depart from the guidelines range where there are circumstances not adequately considered by the Sentencing Commission. 18 U.S.C. § 3553 (b); Id. at 917 . At sentencing the district court justified its departure on the grounds Ceja-Hernandez would be immediately deported following release so that the court could not impose a fine or a program of supervised release. When setting the offense level for entry after deportation, the Sentencing Commission would certainly have been aware of the practice of promptly deporting aliens after they serve such sentences. See 8 C.F.R. § 287.3 ; 8 U.S.C. § 1251 (a)(2). We find the court’s grounds for departure “indicates…