United States v. Dominguez-Mendoza ( 2022 )

Case: 21-50502 Document: 00516235067 Page: 1 Date Filed: 03/11/2022
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
March 11, 2022
No. 21-50502 Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
United States of America,
Plaintiff—Appellee,
versus
Alfonso Dominguez-Mendoza,
Defendant—Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Texas
USDC No. 4:20-CR-574-1
Before Southwick, Haynes, and Higginson, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam:*
Alfonso Dominguez-Mendoza pled guilty to illegal reentry following
deportation. During a sentencing hearing with 30 other defendants, the
district court sentenced him to a term of imprisonment within the Guidelines
range and also to a three-year period of supervised release. On appeal,
Dominguez-Mendoza asserts that the district court erred by imposing a
*
Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this
opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited
circumstances set forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4.
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No. 21-50502
period of supervised release and by doing so without explanation. We
AFFIRM.
Dominguez-Mendoza did not object to the district court’s imposition
of supervised release during sentencing. Therefore, we review his argument
for plain error. United States v. Cancino-Trinidad, 710 F.3d 601, 605 (5th Cir.
2013). “Plain error review requires four determinations: whether there was
error at all; whether it was plain or obvious; whether the error affected the
defendant’s substantial rights; and whether this court should exercise its
discretion to correct the error in order to prevent a manifest miscarriage of
justice.” United States v. Dominguez-Alvarado, 695 F.3d 324, 328 (5th Cir.
2012). We will correct plain error “only if the error seriously affects the
fairness, integrity or public reputation of judicial proceedings.” Id. (quoting
Puckett v. United States, 556 U.S. 129, 135 (2009)).
Section 5D1.1 of the Sentencing Guidelines instructs courts to order a
term of supervised release when required by statute or if a defendant is
sentenced to more than a year in prison. This Section also states that a court
“ordinarily should not impose a term of supervised release in a case in which
supervised release is not required by statute and the defendant is a deportable
alien who likely will be deported after imprisonment.” U.S.S.G. § 5D1.1(c).
The word “ordinarily” in Section 5D1.1(c) is “hortatory, not
mandatory,” and the district court has authority to impose supervised release
if that court “determines it would provide an added measure of deterrence
and protection based on the facts and circumstances of a particular case.”
Dominguez-Alvarado, 695 F.3d at 329. If the district court decides to require
supervision after release, it is obligated to provide some “particularized
explanation” to address why it is doing so. Id. at 330. A district court can
satisfy the obligation to explain the imposition “with a single sentence finding
supervised release appropriate” based on the sentencing factors listed in 18
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U.S.C. Section 3553(a), deterrence, and the defendant’s particular
background and characteristics. United States v. Becerril-Pena, 714 F.3d 347,
349 (5th Cir. 2013).
Dominguez-Mendoza challenges the district court’s sentence in two
ways. First, he argues the district court committed procedural error by failing
to provide a particularized explanation for imposing supervised release.
Second, he argues the district court erred because it failed to consider Section
5D1.1(c) as required by the Sentencing Guidelines, making the imposition of
supervised release substantively unreasonable. To succeed on either basis,
Dominguez-Mendoza must show that these alleged errors affected his
substantial rights. Cancino-Trinidad, 710 F.3d at 606.
One form of procedural error is when a defendant is sentenced under
an improper Guidelines range. See, e.g., Molina-Martinez v. United States, 578
U.S. 189, 195–96, 200 (2016). In that situation, “the error itself can, and
most often will, be sufficient to show a reasonable probability of a different
outcome absent the error.” Id. at 198. The claim here is different, namely,
that the district court did not adequately explain why supervised release was
imposed. We see no basis to assume prejudice in this circumstance and look
for more.
In Cancino-Trinidad, this court considered whether the imposition of
a term of supervised release was plainly erroneous where the district court
may not have been aware that supervised release was discretionary. Cancino-
Trinidad, 710 F.3d at 604. The presentence report used at sentencing
erroneously stated that supervised released was mandatory. Id. at 606. We
concluded that the district court plainly erred by relying on an outdated
version of the Guidelines but no prejudice had occurred because the district
court had explained why it was important that this defendant be supervised
after release. Id. 606-07. Thus, even had the district court known it had
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discretion, it was clear that the court would still have required supervision
after release.
Somewhat similarly, the argument here is that the Guidelines
recommend not imposing supervised release for defendants who will be
deported after serving their sentences. § 5D1.1(c). The failure of the district
court to give any reason for requiring supervision for this defendant, or for
any of the 30 it sentenced at the same time, all of whom were likely to be
deported after serving their sentences, was procedural error because it
prevents “meaningful appellate review” and undermines the “perception of
fair sentencing.” United States v. Mondragon-Santiago, 564 F.3d 357, 360 (5th
Cir. 2009). We mention the claim that there were 30 similarly situated
defendants just to show that this district judge, at least that day, made a three-
year period of supervised release a component of all but two sentences for the
defendants subject to removal.
Before we would vacate a sentence, whether as to supervised release
or some other aspect, a defendant must “show a reasonable probability” that
the district court would not have imposed the same sentence without the
alleged errors. United States v. Mudekunye, 646 F.3d 281, 289 (5th Cir. 2011).
We will assume without deciding that the district court committed plain error
by not giving more of an explanation. This appeal will turn on whether there
is enough here to show that there is not a reasonable probability that the
district court would have imposed supervised release if it had explained itself
in more detail.
We look to the record to see if the particular facts and circumstances
of the defendant’s case warrant supervised release for additional deterrence
and protection. See Cancino-Trinidad, 710 F.3d at 607. Here, the record
shows supervised release was warranted. Dominguez-Mendoza has three
prior aggravated driving-under-the-influence convictions, with probation on
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his second conviction being revoked. He also has children living in the
United States who earlier partly motivated him to re-enter the United States,
and they could motivate him to return again. These facts and circumstances
support a need for an added measure of deterrence and protection. See, e.g.,
Becerril-Pena, 714 F.3d at 351 (noting Section 5D1.1’s commentary “makes
clear . . . supervised release remains especially appropriate for defendants
with lengthy criminal histories”).
Moreover, the district court ordered supervised release as part of
adopting the probation officer’s within-Guidelines recommended sentence.
This raises a presumption that the district court’s sentence was reasonable.
Cacino-Trinidad, 710 F.3d at 607–08. The presumption was not rebutted.
Even if the district court committed error in failing to give a more
detailed explanation for imposing supervised release, Dominguez-Mendoza
has not shown that such an error affected his substantial rights.
AFFIRMED.
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