Appellate Case: 19-2086 Document: 010110613865 FILED Page: 1
Date Filed: 12/03/2021
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS December 3, 2021
Christopher M. Wolpert
TENTH CIRCUIT Clerk of Court
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
No. 19-2086
(D.C. No. 1:02-CR-00084-WJ-1)
v.
(D. N.M.)
BERNIE BANUELOS,
Defendant - Appellant.
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before BACHARACH, MURPHY, and CARSON, Circuit Judges.
After examining the briefs and the appellate record, this court has
determined unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist the
determination of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G).
Accordingly, the case is ordered submitted without oral argument.
In 2002, Appellant Bernie Banuelos was sentenced to 324 months’
imprisonment after being found guilty of, inter alia, possession with intent to
distribute crack cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a) and (b)(1)(B). In
*
This order and judgment is not binding precedent except under the doctrine
of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however,
for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R.
32.1.
Appellate Case: 19-2086 Document: 010110613865 Date Filed: 12/03/2021 Page: 2
2009, Banuelos’s sentence was reduced to 263 months pursuant to a retroactive
amendment made to the United States Sentencing Guidelines. See United States
v. Banuelos, 388 F. App’x 756, 757 (10th Cir. 2010). In 2019, Banuelos again
sought reduction of his sentence, this time pursuant to the First Step Act of 2018,
Pub. L. No. 115-391, 132 Stat. 5194 (2018). The district court denied the motion
and this appeal followed.
After Banuelos was released from federal custody on November 4, 2021,
the United States filed a motion to dismiss this appeal as moot. See United States
v. Fields, 823 F. App’x 587, 591 (10th Cir. 2020) (unpublished disposition)
(concluding appellant’s release from prison mooted his appeal from the denial of
his § 3582(c)(1)(B) motion). The motion to dismiss on mootness grounds is not
opposed by Banuelos. Accordingly, we grant the government’s unopposed
motion to dismiss this appeal as moot.
ENTERED FOR THE COURT
Michael R. Murphy
Circuit Judge
-2-