United States v. Tomas Rodriguez-Verduzco

MEMORANDUM

Defendant Tomas Rodriguez-Verduzco (“Rodriguez”) appeals his sentence of thirty-seven months of imprisonment for Count One: conspiracy to manufacture marijuana of 1,000 or more plants and Count Three: destruction of government property. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

First, Rodriguez challenges the district court’s denial of his request for additional funding under the Criminal Justice Act (“CJA”) for neuropsychological evaluations beyond those that the district initially approved. This court reviews for an abuse of discretion a district court’s denial of a request for funding for expert services pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3006A(e)(l). United States v. Reed, 575 F.3d 900, 918 (9th Cir.2009). This court applies a clearly erroneous standard of review to the district court’s findings of fact. United States v. McEnry, 659 F.3d 893, 896 (9th Cir.2011).

In order to prevail on an appeal of the district court’s denial of funds for expert services, the appellant “must show by clear and convincing evidence that (1) a reasonably competent counsel would have required the assistance of the requested expert for a paying client, and (2) he was…