United States v. Natividad Casares

MEMORANDUM

Natividad Aguilar Casares appeals from his guilty-plea conviction and 30-month sentence imposed for being an illegal alien found in the United States following deportation, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326 (a). Pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 , 87 S.Ct. 1396 , 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967), Casares’s counsel has filed a brief stating there are no grounds for relief, along with a motion to withdraw as counsel of record. We have provided Casares the opportunity to file a pro se supplemental brief. No pro se supplemental brief or answering brief has been filed.

Casares waived his right to appeal his sentence with the exception of the court’s calculation of his criminal history category. Our independent review of the record pursuant to Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 80-81 , 109 S.Ct. 346 , 102 L.Ed.2d 300 (1988), discloses no arguable grounds for relief as to Casares’s conviction and indicates that the appeal waiver is operative. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal of the sentence in part. See United States v. Nguyen, 235 F.3d 1179, 1182 (9th Cir.2000). With regard to the court’s calculation of the criminal history category, our independent review of the record…