United States v. Justina Martinez-Gonzalez

Justina Martinez-Gonzalez appeals her sentence of 27 months imposed following conviction on a guilty plea to conspiracy to transport and harbor illegal aliens, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324 (a)(1)(B) & (C) and 18 U.S.C. § 371 . We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and we affirm.

I.

Martinez-Gonzalez argues that the district court erred in departing upward by two levels from her base offense level of thirteen due to the sophistication of her smuggling organization and the large numbers of aliens involved.

In United States v. Lira-Barraza, 941 F.2d 745 (9th Cir.1991) (en banc), this court set forth a three-part test for evaluating a district court’s decision to depart from the applicable Sentencing Guidelines range. First, we review de novo whether the district court had legal authority to depart. Id. at 746 . Second, we review for clear error the factual findings supporting the existence of the identified circumstance. Id. Third, we review for abuse of discretion whether the degree of departure was reasonable within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 3742 (e)(3) and (f)(2). Id. at 747 .

A district court is authorized to depart from the applicable Guideline range if it…