United States v. Walter Cortes

Walter Cortes (“Cortes”) was convicted of attempted carjacking in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2119 (“carjacking statute”). Cortes requested a sentencing reduction to account for his acceptance of responsibility. The district court denied that request and sentenced Cortes to 97 months in prison.

On appeal, Cortes attacks the carjacking statute as an unconstitutional abuse of Congress’s Commerce Clause authority. Cortes appeals also his sentence insofar as it fails to account for his acceptance of responsibility. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . Joining our Sister Circuits, we hold that Congress may constitutionally regulate carjacking as an activity that substantially affects interstate commerce. However, we vacate Cortes’s sentence because the record does not reflect whether the district court appropriately evaluated the factors germane to Cortes’s requested acceptance of responsibility reduction.

BACKGROUND

After leaving work at Home Depot around midnight, Cortes and some friends went to the local speakeasy to shoot pool and drink beer. Shortly before 2:00 AM, they shunned the pub in favor of a public park, where they continued drinking beer as well as…