Case: 11-20288 Document: 00511782002 Page: 1 Date Filed: 03/08/2012
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
March 8, 2012
No. 11-20288 Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
MARCOS TULIO ASENCIO-PERDOMO, also known as Marcos Tulio Asencio,
also known as Eduardo Sanchez Gonzales, also known as Marcus Asencio,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
Before REAVLEY, ELROD, and HAYNES, Circuit Judges.
JENNIFER WALKER ELROD, Circuit Judge:
Marcus Tulio Asencio-Perdomo appeals his sentence of 20 months of
imprisonment. He argues that the district court erred in applying an eight-level
sentencing enhancement because, contrary to the district court’s determination,
his prior theft conviction is not an aggravated felony under U.S.S.G.
§ 2L1.2(b)(1)(C). We AFFIRM.
I.
Asencio-Perdomo is a citizen of El Salvador. In January 2011, he pleaded
guilty to unlawful reentry in violation of 8 U.S.C. §§ 1326(a) and 1326(b)(1). The
presentence report (PSR) recommended an eight-level aggravated felony
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No. 11-20288
enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(C) for Asencio-Perdomo’s prior
Indiana theft conviction. For that conviction Asencio-Perdomo received a
sentence of one year and six months of imprisonment, but his prison term was
suspended in favor of probation. Based in part on the recommended aggravated
felony enhancement, the PSR calculated a total offense level of 13 and an
advisory sentencing range of 18 to 24 months.
Asencio-Perdomo objected to the eight-level enhancement at sentencing,
arguing that his Indiana conviction does not meet the definition of aggravated
felony under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(C). Instead, Asencio-Perdomo argued that
he should receive only a four-level enhancement for a prior felony conviction
pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(D). The district court overruled his objection,
adopted the PSR’s guidelines calculation, and sentenced Asencio-Perdomo to 20
months of imprisonment, two years of supervised release, and a $100 special
assessment. Asencio-Perdomo timely appealed.
II.
Asencio-Perdomo’s sole contention on appeal is that the district court erred
in determining that his prior Indiana theft conviction is an aggravated felony
within the meaning of U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(C). We review de novo the district
court’s interpretation or application of the Sentencing Guidelines. United States
v. Lige, 635 F.3d 668, 670 (5th Cir. 2011).
As our precedent recognizes, “[t]he commentary [to U.S.S.G.
§ 2L1.2(b)(1)(C)] defines ‘aggravated felony’ by reference to 8 U.S.C.
§ 1101(a)(43).” United States v. Banda-Zamora, 178 F.3d 728, 729 (5th Cir.
1999). Section 1101, in turn, defines “aggravated felony” to include “a theft
offense . . . for which the term of imprisonment [sic] at least one year.”1 8 U.S.C.
1
We have previously observed that “[t]his phrase is missing a verb.” Banda-Zamora,
178 F.3d at 729 (discussing the same phrase in 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(F)). In Banda-Zamora,
2
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§ 1101(a)(43)(G). The central question we must resolve is one of first impression
in this circuit: whether the quoted phrase refers to an offense’s statutory
minimum term of imprisonment or the actual sentence imposed on a particular
defendant.
Asencio-Perdomo takes that view that the language “term of
imprisonment” in § 1101(a)(43)(G) means the mandatory minimum sentence for
an offense. He contends that this is the best reading of the statute because the
relevant text “refers to the ‘term of imprisonment’ for a given ‘offense’ rather
than the ‘sentence’ imposed on a particular ‘defendant.’” Based on his reading
of § 1101(a)(43)(G), Asencio-Perdomo concludes that the district court erred in
classifying his Indiana theft conviction as an aggravated felony. This is because
although Asencio-Perdomo was sentenced to a year and six months of
imprisonment, the Indiana offense for which he was convicted provides for a
minimum prison sentence of only one-half of a year. Compare Ind. Code § 35-43-
4-2(a) (theft of less than $100,000 is a Class D felony) with § 35-50-2-1(c)
(minimum sentence for a Class D felony is one-half of a year). Thus, on Asencio-
Perdomo’s view, he was not convicted of “a theft offense . . . for which the term
of imprisonment [is] at least one year.” 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(G).
Despite having some superficial plausibility, Asencio-Perdomo’s
interpretation of § 1101(a)(43)(G) is incorrect. It does not persuasively account
for § 1101(a)(48)(B), which provides:
Any reference to a term of imprisonment or a sentence with respect
to an offense is deemed to include the period of incarceration or
confinement ordered by a court of law regardless of any suspension
of the imposition or execution of that imprisonment or sentence in
whole or in part.
we upheld this definitional phrase against a challenge that it is unconstitutionally vague, and
we noted and that “the missing verb is probably ‘is.’” Id. at 729–30.
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Asencio-Perdomo insists that his interpretation is “not inconsistent” with
§ 1101(a)(48)(B) because that definition refers to a term of imprisonment with
respect to an offense rather than with respect to a defendant. But that reading
ignores the operative language of § 1101(a)(48)(B), which defines “term of
imprisonment . . . to include the period of incarceration or confinement ordered
by a court of law.” Unlike Asencio-Perdomo, we read this language
straightforwardly and hold that the phrase “term of imprisonment” in
§ 1101(a)(43)(G) refers to the actual sentence imposed. In so holding, we agree
with each of our sister circuits to have confronted this question. See United
States v. Pacheco, 225 F.3d 148, 153–54 (2d Cir. 2000); United States v. Guzman-
Bera, 216 F.3d 1019, 1020 (11th Cir. 2000) (per curiam); Alberto-Gonzalez v.
INS, 215 F.3d 906, 909 (9th Cir. 2000); United States v. Graham, 169 F.3d 787,
790 (3d Cir. 1999).
Asencio-Perdomo is also wrong to suggest that his interpretation of
§ 1101(a)(43)(G) is implicit in our prior decisions in Banda-Zamora and United
States v. Mondragon-Santiago, 564 F.3d 357 (5th Cir. 2009). Both of these cases
articulate the rule that a prior conviction is not an aggravated felony within the
meaning of § 1101(a)(43)(G)2 where the actual sentence imposed was “for
probation in the first instance without any imprisonment contemplated.”
Mondragon-Santiago, 564 F.3d at 368 (citing Banda-Zamora, 178 F.3d at 730).
By contrast, “[i]f the sentencing court orders imprisonment and then suspends
it, the sentence counts under [§ 1101(a)(43)(G)] for determining if the term of
imprisonment is at least one year in duration.” Id. Banda-Zamora and
Mondragon-Santiago cut against rather than in favor of Asencio-Perdomo’s
2
Banda-Zamora and Mondragon-Santiago interpreted the definition of aggravated
felony in § 1101(a)(43)(F) rather than § 1101(a)(43)(G). That difference is immaterial,
however, because the language at issue is exactly the same in each provision.
Section 1101(a)(43)(F) defines “aggravated felony” to include “a crime of violence . . . for which
the term of imprisonment [sic] at least one year.”
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No. 11-20288
interpretation because they focus on the characteristics of the actual sentence
imposed in assessing whether a prior conviction is an aggravated felony.3
AFFIRMED.
3
Asencio-Perdomo also observes that he was indicted and convicted under 8 U.S.C.
§ 1326(b)(1) rather than § 1326(b)(2). Section 1326(b)(1) establishes the criminal penalties for
illegal reentry by aliens “whose removal was subsequent to a conviction for commission of
three or more misdemeanors involving drugs, crimes against the person, or both, or a felony
(other than an aggravated felony)” (emphasis added). Section 1326(b)(2) sets forth the
penalties for illegal reentry by aliens “whose removal was subsequent to a conviction for
commission of an aggravated felony.” Asencio-Perdomo does not cite any authority for how
this observation is relevant to our analysis. Thus, to the extent he intended it as an argument
and not merely an observation, it is inadequately briefed and is hence forfeited. See Tex.
Midstream Gas Servs., LLC v. City of Grand Prairie, 608 F.3d 200, 206 (5th Cir. 2010). Even
assuming arguendo that we could construe this observation as an argument that an
aggravated felony sentencing enhancement is impermissible here given the statutory provision
under which Asencio-Perdomo was indicted and convicted, Asencio-Perdomo waived this
argument by not presenting it to the district court and our review is for plain error only. See
United States v. Davis, 603 F.3d 303, 307 (5th Cir. 2010). Asencio-Perdomo therefore bears
the burden of proving (1) error, (2) that is plain, and (3) that affects his substantial rights.
United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 733–34 (2003). Yet Asencio-Perdomo does not even
attempt to argue that he satisfies this test. Even if he could, we would still have to proceed
to the fourth prong of the plain error test, which affords us “the discretion to remedy the
error—discretion which ought to be exercised only if the error seriously affect[s] the fairness,
integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings.” Puckett v. United States, 556 U.S. 129,
135 (2009) (internal quotation marks omitted). We do not believe this case warrants the
exercise of our discretion. See United States v. Ellis, 564 F.3d 370, 378–79 (5th Cir. 2009) (“To
conclude that not correcting the error claimed here casts doubt upon the fairness, integrity,
or public reputation of the proceeding drains all content from the doctrine of plain error.”).
5