Romero

United States v. Romero

Good Law
269 F. App'x 689
United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth CircuitMarch 11, 2008No. 07-30147California250 words

Opinion

lead Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Francisco Isabel Romero appeals from his 144-month sentence imposed for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a)(1) and (b)(1)(B), possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a)(1) and (b)(1)(A), and bringing in and harboring illegal aliens in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324 (a)(l)(A)(iii). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We vacate and remand.

Romero contends that the district court improperly relied on his citizenship, multicultural background and bilingual ability during sentencing and that the district court had no basis for concluding that “statistically, he’s the kind of person that would engage in this kind of conduct in the future.” We conclude that the district court abused its discretion by considering Romero’s race and national origin in contravention of U.S.S.G § 5H1.10, which states that such factors are not relevant in the determination of a sentence. We further conclude that the district court erred by relying on unfounded assumptions as to Romero’s statistical likelihood of recidivism. See Gall v. United States, — U.S. -, 128 S.Ct. 586, 597 ,…

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