Madrigal-Espinoza

United States v. Madrigal-Espinoza

Good Law
265 F. App'x 558
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitJanuary 24, 2008No. 05-30557California297 words

Opinion

lead Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Luis Madrigal-Espinoza appeals from the 57-month sentence imposed following *559 his guilty-plea conviction for being an alien in the United States after deportation, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1826 , and making a false claim to United States citizenship, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 911 . We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing.

Madrigal-Espinoza contends that, under the doctrine of constitutional avoidance, § 1326 should be construed to require proof beyond a reasonable doubt that he was deported subsequent to his prior felony conviction. He also contends that the district court engaged in impermissible judicial fact-finding in violation of the Fifth and Sixth Amendments when it found that he was removed subsequent to his prior conviction. These contentions are foreclosed and belied by the record. See United States v. Grisel, 488 F.3d 844, 846-47 (9th Cir.2007) (en banc); see also United States v. Martinez-Rodriguez, 472 F.3d 1087, 1094 (9th Cir.2007).

Madrigal-Espinoza’s contention that Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224 , 118 S.Ct. 1219 , 140 L.Ed.2d 350 (1998), has been overruled…

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