F I L E D
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
PUBLISH
August 21, 2006
UNITED STATES CO URT O F APPEALS Elisabeth A. Shumaker
Clerk of Court
TENTH CIRCUIT
U N ITED STA TES O F A M ER ICA,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v. No. 04-2224
LU IS H ER NA N D EZ-G A RD U NO,
Defendant-Appellee.
U N ITED STA TES O F A M ER ICA,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v. No. 04-2226
M IG U EL JU A N RA M O S-ESPINO,
Defendant-Appellee.
U N ITED STA TES O F A M ER ICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v. No. 04-2348
A N IV A L LEO N EL O RTEG A -
ENRIQU EZ,
Defendant-Appellant.
A PPE AL FR OM T HE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR T HE D ISTRICT OF NEW M EXICO
(D.C. NO S. CR -04-390 RB , 03-CR -2230 RB , 04-CR -93 JP)
Terri J. Abernathy, Assistant United States Attorney (David C. Iglesias, United
States Attorney with her on the briefs), Las Cruces, New M exico, for the United
States of America.
M arcia J. M ilner, Las Cruces, New M exico, for Defendant-Appellee Hernandez-
Garduno and Defendant-Appellant Ortega-Enriquez.
Rosanne Camunez, Las Cruces, New M exico, for Defendant-Appellee Ramos-
Espino.
Before H E N RY, L UC ER O, and M cCO NNELL, Circuit Judges.
M cCO NNELL, Circuit Judge.
These three criminal appeals present the question whether previous
Colorado misdemeanor convictions for third-degree assault constitute crimes of
violence under § 2L1.2 of the United States Sentencing Guidelines when the
defendants w ere sentenced to less than one-year imprisonment. The defendants
claim that the crime-of-violence enhancement applies only to crimes of violence
that are aggravated felonies, thereby limiting the enhancement to prior
convictions in which the defendant actually served a prison term of at least one
year. One district court judge accepted this argument as to two of the defendants,
Luis Hernandez-Garduno and M iguel Juan Ramos-Espino, but another district
court judge rejected the argument as to the third defendant, Anival Leonel Ortega-
Enriquez. M r. Ortega-Enriquez now appeals his sentence, claiming that his prior
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conviction was not a crime of violence and that his sentence violates the rule set
forth in United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005). The government maintains
that the sentences the defendants received for their prior assault convictions are
irrelevant to determining whether their convictions constituted crimes of violence,
but acknowledges that third-degree assault is not always a crime of violence. For
the reasons set forth below, we REM AND the cases to the district court with
directions to vacate each defendant’s sentence and resentence.
I. Background
Although each defendant pleaded guilty to illegally reentering the United
States, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a)(1) and (a)(2), and had prior Colorado
misdemeanor convictions for third-degree assault, we briefly review the facts of
each defendant’s case separately.
A. M r. Hernandez-Garduno
On September 17, 2003, M r. Hernandez-Garduno was convicted of third-
degree misdemeanor assault in violation of Colorado law. See Colo. Rev. Stat. §
18-3-204. He was sentenced to 24 days’ imprisonment and 12 months’
unsupervised probation, and removed to M exico on October 17, 2003. Less than
three months later, on December 20, 2003, M r. Hernandez-Garduno was arrested
for illegally reentering the United States. He pleaded guilty on M arch 3, 2004.
The Presentence Investigation Report (“PSR”) calculated M r. Hernandez-
Garduno’s total adjusted offense level as 21. Starting with a base offense level of
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8, the PSR applied a 16-level increase for a prior crime of violence, and a 3-level
reduction for acceptance of responsibility. W ith a criminal history category of
III, the guidelines range was 46 to 57 months.
At his sentencing hearing, the district court concluded that “there is no
question but that [the prior conviction] is a crime of violence,” but found that the
applicability of the enhancement depended on the duration of the actual sentence
imposed. Case No. 04-2224, App. Vol. I, at 99. M r. Hernandez-Garduno did not
object to the district court’s classification of third-degree assault as a crime of
violence. However, because M r. Hernandez-Garduno received only a 24-day
sentence for his prior assault conviction, the district court declined to apply the
crim e of violence enhancement. It also reduced his base offense level of 8 by tw o
levels for acceptance of responsibility. W ith an adjusted offense level of 6, and a
criminal history category III, the guidelines range w as 2-8 months. The court
sentenced M r. Hernandez-Garduno to 8 months’ imprisonment, which amounted
to time served, and recommended that he be removed from the country.
B. M r. Ramos-Espino
M r. Ramos-Espino likewise was convicted of third-degree misdemeanor
assault, in violation of Colorado law. See Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-3-204. He
received a 90-day jail sentence and one year of supervised probation. M r. Ramos-
Espino was deported from the United States on M arch 7, 2003, but illegally
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reentered the country. He was apprehended on August 5, 2003 and pleaded guilty
on December 2, 2004.
The PSR prepared in M r. Ramos-Espino’s case was similar to that prepared
in M r. Hernandez-Garduno’s case. Based on the third-degree assault conviction,
it applied a 16-level enhancement for a prior crime of violence. After the
reduction for acceptance of responsibility, it recommended a total offense level of
21, criminal history category of III, and a sentencing range of 46-57 months. M r.
Ramos-Espino objected to the enhancement, arguing that his 90-day prison
sentence did not satisfy the one year incarceration requirement for aggravated
felonies. The district court sustained the objection, relying on the definitions
section in the commentary of § 2L1.2, and finding that “w here it’s a state
misdemeanor, even though the maximum penalty is 18 months and [the
defendant] has received a sentence of 90 days, suspended, that does not meet the
definition of felony required by the guidelines.” Case No. 04-2226, App. Vol. I,
at 90. Accordingly, M r. Ramos-Espino’s guideline range w as reduced to 2-8
months, and he received a sentence of time served, which equated to 11 months.
M r. Ramos-Espino was subsequently deported to M exico.
C. M r. Ortega-Enriquez
M r. Ortega-Enriquez pleaded guilty to third-degree assault in Colorado on
October 20, 2003. He received a four-day jail sentence and two years of
unsupervised probation. On October 24, 2003, he was released into the custody
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of Immigration and Custom Enforcement and deported on November 11, 2003.
Three days later, M r. Ortega-Enriquez was found in the United States and charged
with illegal reentry. He pleaded guilty to that charge on January 27, 2004.
The PSR prepared for M r. Ortega-Enriquez calculated a base offense level
of 8, added 16 levels for a prior crime of violence (the Colorado third-degree
assault), and subtracted 3 levels for acceptance of responsibility. The Colorado
assault also increased his criminal history from category I to category II. Based
on an offense level of 21, and a criminal history category of II, the PSR
recommended a guidelines range of 41-51 months.
At sentencing, M r. Ortega-Enriquez filed a motion for a criminal history
departure, claiming that category II overrepresented his criminal history. The
district court agreed, and reduced his criminal history to category I, reducing the
range to 37-46 months. Although M r. Ortega-Enriquez conceded that his prior
Colorado conviction was a crime of violence, he argued that he did not qualify for
the 16-level enhancement because his four-day prison sentence precluded the
prior conviction from being considered an aggravated felony. Basing its
conclusion in part on the government’s decision to appeal the sentences in M r.
Hernandez-Garduno’s and M r. Ramos-Espino’s cases, the district court, with
“great reluctance,” rejected M r. O rtega-Enriquez’s aggravated felony argument.
Case No. 04-2348, R. Vol. III, at 6. Although the court noted that classifying the
prior assault conviction as a “felony,” and thereby enhancing the base offense
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level by only four levels, would have produced a “fair sentence” in the range of 8-
14 months, the district court concluded that an 8-14 month range was not “the
sentence compelled by the language of the sentencing guidelines.” Case No. 04-
2348, Sent. Tr. at 25-26. The court therefore applied the 37-46 month range, and
sentenced M r. Ortega-Enriquez to 37 months’ imprisonment, a sentence the court
characterized as “terribly unfair.” Case No. 04-2348, R. Vol. III, at 6.
II. Discussion
The government now challenges the district court’s decision not to apply
the crime of violence enhancement to M r. Hernandez-Garduno and M r. Ramos-
Espino. M r. Ortega-Enriquez contends that the enhancement should not have
been applied in his case. The common issue in all three cases is whether the
felony crime of violence enhancement applies only to aggravated felonies,
meaning convictions resulting in a prison sentence of at least one year. The
parties also raise some distinct arguments. For the first time on appeal, M r.
Hernandez-Garduno and M r. Ramos-Espino contend that their third-degree assault
convictions w ere not crimes of violence. The government maintains that their
failure to advance these arguments below precludes our consideration. M r.
Ortega-Enriquez claims that his sentence is inconsistent with the remedial holding
of Booker. The government agrees, and concedes that this error was not
harmless. However, before turning to the substance of the claims presented in
these appeals, we must first consider whether the appeals involving M r.
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Hernandez-Garduno and M r. Ramos-Espino were rendered moot upon their
deportation.
A. M ootness
N ear the end of his response brief, M r. Ramos-Espino argues that we
should “alternative[ly]” dismiss the government’s appeal as moot. Appellee
Answer Br., Case No. 04-2226, at 16. For a court, mootness is not an alternative
argument; we have “an affirmative obligation to consider this [jurisdictional]
question sua sponte.” Tandy v. City of Wichita, 380 F.3d 1277, 1290 n.15 (10th
Cir. 2004). M r. Ramos-Espino contends that because he has completed his
sentences, has been deported, and cannot be resentenced without reentering this
country illegally, the district court is without jurisdiction to resentence him. The
same argument appears to apply with equal force to M r. Hernandez-Garduno
because he has also been deported.
Completion of a sentence and deportation does not moot the government’s
appeal of an improper sentence. United States v. Alvarez-Pineda, 258 F.3d 1230,
1235 (10th Cir. 2001). Even after a defendant is deported, the government may
continue to allege a remediable injury: here, the trial court’s failure to impose a
sufficiently lengthy sentence under the sentencing guidelines. See United States
v. M eyers, 200 F.3d 715, 721 n.3 (10th Cir. 2000). This injury may be remedied
only through an appeal. See id. Although neither defendant could appear for
resentencing without reentering the country illegally, if either defendant returned
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to the United States “by extradition or by re-entering . . . on his own, he would be
subject to arrest and imprisonment for the remainder of his sentence.” Alvarez-
Pineda, 258 F.3d at 1235; see also United States v. Villamonte-M arquez, 462 U.S.
579, 581 n.2 (1983). The government’s appeal is therefore not moot, and we
proceed to the merits of the claim.
B. Felony Crimes of Violence and Aggravated Felonies under § 2L1.2
The defendants argue that § 2L1.2 defines a “felony” for purposes of the
crime of violence enhancement in reference to 8 U.S.C. § 1101. Because 8
U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(F) limits aggravated felonies to crimes of violence “for
which the term of imprisonment [is] at least one year,” the defendants argue that
§ 2L1.2 of the Sentencing Guidelines also includes such a limitation,
notwithstanding an application note that defines “felony” as an offense
“punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.” U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2
n.2 (emphasis added). Their interpretation is not supported by the language of the
2003 Sentencing Guidelines, which w ere used to calculate each defendant’s
sentence.
Section 2L1.2 provides, in pertinent part:
§ 2L1.2. Unlaw fully Entering or Remaining in the United States
(a) Base Offense Level: 8
(b) Specific O ffense Characteristic
(1) Apply the Greatest:
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If the defendant previously was deported, or unlaw fully
remained in the United States, after—
(A) a conviction for a felony that is . . . (ii) a crime of
violence . . . increase by 16 levels;
* * *
(C) a conviction for an aggravated felony, increase by
8 levels;
(D) a conviction for any other felony, increase by 4
levels.
U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2 (emphasis added). “Felony” and “aggravated felony” are
carefully defined in the application notes, which are authoritative unless they are
unconstitutional, violate a federal statute, or are inconsistent with, or a plainly
erroneous reading of, the guideline. See Stinson v. United States, 508 U.S. 36, 38
(1993). Felony, “[f]or purposes of subsection (b)(1)(A), (B), and (D), . . . means
any federal, state, or local offense punishable by imprisonment for a term
exceeding one year.” U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2 n.2. Specifically “for purposes of
subsection (b)(1)(C),” the Guidelines define “aggravated felony” as having “the
meaning given that term in section 101(a)(43) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)).” Id. § 2L1.2 n.3(A ).
Reading § 2L1.2 as a whole, then, there can be no question that the
Guidelines employ a different definition of “felony” for purposes of subsection
(b)(1)(A) than the definition of “aggravated felony” for purposes of subsection
(b)(1)(C). The reference to 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43) applies only to subsection
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(b)(1)(C). U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2 n.3(A). The enhancement relevant to these
cases— for a felony that is a crime of violence, contained in subsection
(b)(1)(A)— has its own definition of felony. U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2 n.2. Because the
application notes are neither inconsistent with, nor a plainly erroneous reading of,
§ 2L1.2, we must apply the definition of felony contained within the application
notes to define “felony” in subsection (b)(1)(A). See Stinson, 508 U.S. at 38.
In arguing that the phrase “felony that is . . . a crime of violence” is
defined by reference to 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(F), defendants also direct us to
this Court’s decision in United States v. Saenz-M endoza, 287 F.3d 1011, 1012-13
(10th Cir. 2002) in which we held that a state misdemeanor may constitute an
“aggravated felony” under § 2L1.2 as long as it satisfies the definition of
“aggravated felony” in 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(F). In relying on Saenz-M endoza,
defendants fail to recognize that Saenz-M endoza interpreted the “aggravated
felony” enhancement in § 2L1.2(b)(1)(C), not the “crime of violence”
enhancement in § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(ii). Because these cases involve only the
“crime of violence” enhancement, the interpretation of which is governed by
different application notes, Saenz-M endoza is not instructive on this issue.
The definition of “felony” for purposes of § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(ii) includes any
offense punishable by more than one year of imprisonment, irrespective of the
actual sentence imposed. See United States v. Hernandez-C astillo, 449 F.3d
1127, 1130-31 (10th Cir. 2006) (holding that a defendant who received a
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suspended sentence of 157 days in jail was convicted of an offense punishable by
more than one-year of incarceration because California law provided for a
sentence of up to three years’ imprisonment); cf. United States v. Norris, 319 F.3d
1278, 1282 (10th Cir. 2003) (interpreting the same phrase under 18 U.S.C. §
922(g)(1) and concluding that “[w]hat matters is not the actual sentence which the
appellant received, but the maximum possible sentence”). Because Colorado
provides for a term of imprisonment up to 18 months for third-degree assault,
Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 18-3-204, 18-1.3-501, the defendants’ convictions were
felonies under § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A), even though the convictions may not have
qualified as aggravated felonies under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(F). The district
court therefore erred in concluding that M r. Hernandez-Garduno’s and M r.
Ramos-Espino’s prior convictions were not felony crimes of violence, but
correctly found that M r. Ortega-Enriquez’s prior conviction was a felony crime of
violence.
C. Colorado Third-Degree Assault as a Crime of Violence
Aside from contending that their prior assault convictions were not
felonies, both M r. Hernandez-Garduno and M r. Ramos-Espino argue, for the first
time, that their third-degree assault convictions were not crimes of violence under
§ 2L1.2(b)(1)(A ). M r. Ortega-Enriquez conceded that his third-degree assault
was a crime of violence and does not contest that aspect of the district court’s
conclusion. The government contends that M r. Hernandez-Garduno and M r.
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Ramos-Espino have waived this claim by failing to raise it in the district court.
However, a new legal theory can be considered on appeal if it “presents an
alternative ground for affirming a lower court ruling on a pure question of law.”
M cM orris v. Comm’r of Internal Revenue, 243 F.3d 1254, 1258 n.6 (10th Cir.
2001); J.E. Riley Inv. Co. v. Comm’r of Internal Revenue, 311 U.S. 55, 59 (1940).
W e therefore consider M r. Hernandez-Garduno’s and M r. Ramos-Espino’s
alternative argument that their Colorado third-degree assault convictions were not
crimes of violence.
The G uidelines define “crime of violence” for purposes of § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A )
as
any of the following: murder, manslaughter, kidnapping, aggravated
assault, forcible sex offenses, statutory rape, sexual abuse of a minor,
robbery, arson, extortion, extortionate extension of credit, burglary
of a dwelling, or any offense under federal, state, or local law that
has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of
physical force against the person of another.
Id. § 2L1.2 n.1(B)(iii). Relying on United States v. Perez-Vargas, 414 F.3d 1282,
1287 (10th Cir. 2005), M r. Hernandez-Garduno and M r. Ramos-Espino contend
that their prior convictions, even if felonies, do not qualify as crimes of violence.
In Perez-Vargas, we considered whether a Colorado third-degree assault
conviction under Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-3-204— the same statute of conviction at
issue in this case— qualified as a crime of violence under § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(ii) of
the Sentencing Guidelines. Applying the categorical approach outlined in
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Shepard v. United States, 544 U.S. 13 (2005), and Taylor v. United States, 495
U.S. 575 (1990), which looks primarily to the statutory definitions of prior
offenses, we held that Colorado third-degree assault is not necessarily a crime of
violence. Perez-Vargas, 414 F.3d at 1287. W e explained that third-degree
assault under Colorado law includes actions which cause only the impairment of a
mental condition. See Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 18-3-204, 18-1-1901(3)(c). As a result,
not all third-degree assaults involve the use, attempted use, or threatened use of
physical force.
To be sure, Perez-Vargas does not hold that a C olorado third-degree assault
conviction can never be a crime of violence; rather, it clarifies that third-degree
assault is not always a crime of violence. If the charging documents, plea
agreement, transcript of a plea colloquy, or sentencing court findings of the prior
state court conviction demonstrate that the third-degree assault did, in fact,
involve the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force, then the
particular defendant’s prior assault conviction qualifies as a crime of violence
under § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(ii). See Shepard, 544 U.S. at 26. W e must therefore
remand these cases to the district court for it to review these documents and
determine whether the prior convictions fall within the definition of “crime of
violence” under § 2L1.2.
W e note, however, that because Colorado third-degree assault is a “felony,”
under § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A), (B), and (D), both M r. Hernandez-Garduno and M r.
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Ramos-Espino are eligible for sentencing enhancements under § 2L1.2(b)(1)(D),
for having previously been convicted of “any other felony.” The Guidelines
explicitly instruct district courts to “[a]pply the [g]reatest” enhancement under §
2L1.2(b)(1). Accordingly, if the district court concludes that the prior
convictions were crimes of violence, then a 16-level enhancement is appropriate;
if the district court determines that there is not sufficient evidence to find that the
prior convictions were crimes of violence, then it should apply a 4-level
enhancement for a prior felony conviction. Of course, the district court retains
discretion to vary from the Guidelines range, as it deems appropriate based on the
factors in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). See Booker, 543 U.S. at 259.
D. Booker Error
M r. Ortega-Enriquez also claims that the district court committed non-
constitutional Booker error by applying the Guidelines in a mandatory manner.
See United States v. Gonzalez-Huerta, 403 F.3d 727, 731-32 (10th Cir. 2005)
(explaining that non-constitutional Booker error occurs when a district court
applies the guidelines in a mandatory, rather than discretionary, fashion). W here,
as here, the defendant raises a Sixth Amendment objection at sentencing, we
review the error for harmlessness. United States v. Labastida-Segura, 396 F.3d
1140, 1142-43 (10th Cir. 2005). The government has conceded that the error in
M r. Ortega-Enriquez’s case was not harmless, and we agree. Not only did the
district court sentence M r. Ortega-Enriquez at the bottom of the sentencing range,
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which places us “in the zone of speculation and conjecture” as to whether the
district court would have applied the same sentence under an advisory guidelines
system, see id. at 1143, but the district court expressed “great reluctance” in
imposing the 37-month sentence, characterizing it as “terribly unfair.” Case No.
04-2348, R. Vol. III, at 6.
III. Conclusion
W e therefore remand each case to the district court for resentencing. W e
reverse the sentences imposed on M r. Hernandez-Garduno and M r. Ramos-Espino
because their prior convictions were felonies that may have qualified as crimes of
violence. On remand, the district court should consider the documents outlined in
Shepard and determine whether the prior convictions fall within the definition of
“crime of violence” contained in § 2L1.2 or whether they are “other felon[ies].”
W e also reverse M r. Ortega-Enriquez’s sentence and remand for resentencing
under an advisory guidelines regime.
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