United States v. Roberto Barajas-Cuevas

MEMORANDUM

Defendant-Appellant Roberto Barajas-Cuevas (“Barajas-Cuevas”) appeals his conviction and sentence following his plea of guilty to one count of illegal reentry of an alien in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1826 . He asserts that the district court erred by: finding that he was competent to stand trial; permitting him to represent himself; and imposing a sentence of fifty-one months imprisonment. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

I.

The district court did not clearly err in finding that Barajas-Cuevas was competent to stand trial. See United States v. Gastelum-Almeida, 298 F.3d 1167, 1171 (9th Cir.2002) (articulating clear error standard). A defendant is competent to stand trial if he (1) “has ‘a rational as well as factual understanding óf the proceedings against him’ ” and (2) “ ‘has sufficient present ability to consult with his lawyer with a reasonable degree of rational understanding.’ ” Indiana v. Edwards, 554 U.S. 164, 170 , 128 S.Ct. 2379 , 171 L.Ed.2d 345 (2008) (quoting Dusky v. United States, 362 U.S. 402, 402 , 80 S.Ct. 788 , 4 L.Ed.2d 824 (1960) (per curiam)) (emphasis omitted). Competency to stand trial must be established by a…