United States v. Ruben Villatoro-Medrano

MEMORANDUM

Ruben Villatoro-Medrano appeals the 18-month sentence he received for violating the terms of his supervised release. He argues that the district court committed procedural and substantive error by selecting a sentence based in part on the possibility that the sentence for his underlying offense might be reversed on appeal. We review the district court’s sentencing decision for abuse of discretion. United States v. Spangle, 626 F.3d 488, 497 (9th Cir.2010).

First, because the district court anchored its sentence in the 18 U.S.C. § 3583 (e) framework, Petitioner’s claim of procedural error is without merit. See United States v. Simtob, 485 F.3d 1058, 1062-63 (9th Cir.2007). Indeed, the court below expressly acknowledged the purpose of its sentence as sanctioning Petitioner’s breach of the court’s trust, deterring future violations, and facilitating rehabilitation. Regardless, the error, if any, was caused when Petitioner’s counsel below asked the district judge to consider the underlying 72-month sentence in imposing the sentence now at issue. Here, where the guideline range was 21 to 24 months, an 18 month sentence did not constitute a “miscarriage of justice,” nor is…