Loza-Bojorquez

MEMORANDUM **

A federal grand jury indicted Wilfredo Loza-Bojorquez for violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326 , after he re-entered the United States after deportation. After trial, a jury found Loza-Bojorquez guilty of attempted re-entry after deportation.

At his trial, Loza-Bojorquez pointed out that his birth certificate did not indicate the country of origin of his grandparents. The district court nonetheless ruled that Loza-Bojorquez was not entitled to an instruction on derivative United States citizenship and could not argue in closing that, based on this omission, he had derivative citizenship. Because there was no evidence to support such an instruction, the refusal did not constitute error. See United States v. Falsia, 724 F.2d 1339, 1342 (9th Cir.1983). For the same reason, the district court did not abuse its discre *627 tion in prohibiting closing argument based on derivative citizenship, and Loza-Bojorquez was not denied effective assistance of counsel because his attorney was not allowed to argue that point. See United States v. Miguel, 338 F.3d 995, 1001 (9th Cir.2003) (“A district court certainly retains the power to preclude closing arguments on defense theories that…