United States v. Jesus Burruel-Lopez , 407 F. App'x 134 ( 2010 )

FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION DEC 22 2010
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 10-10141
Plaintiff - Appellee, D.C. No. 4:09-cr-01004-DCB-
JJM-1
v.
JESUS BURRUEL-LOPEZ, MEMORANDUM *
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Arizona
Jacqueline Marshall, Magistrate Judge, Presiding
Argued and Submitted December 8, 2010
San Francisco, California
Before: REINHARDT, HAWKINS, and N.R. SMITH, Circuit Judges.
Following his guilty plea to illegal re-entry after deportation, Jesus Burruel-
Lopez (“Burruel”) appeals the district court’s rejection of his plea agreement’s
stipulated sentence and the adequacy of notice for an above-Guidelines sentence of
36 months. We affirm.
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
District courts have broad discretion in choosing whether to accept or reject
plea agreements. In re Morgan, 506 F.3d 705, 708 (9th Cir. 2007). Here, the district
court did not apply a categorical rule, but analyzed Burruel’s circumstances and
offered specific, individualized reasons why the proposed sentence was insufficient,
including Burruel’s criminal history, past sentences for the same offense, and lack of
deterrence; therefore, the court did not abuse its discretion. See id. at 712.
Burruel also claims he did not receive adequate notice under Federal Rule of
Criminal Procedure 32(h) of the court’s intention to sentence him outside the
Guidelines range. However, under the Supreme Court’s decision in Irizarry v. United
States, 553 U.S. 708 (2008), the terms “variance” and “departure” have separate and
distinct meanings, and Rule 32(h) notice is only required when there is a “departure”
from the Sentencing Guidelines. Id. at 715-16.
As we have explained:
A “departure” is typically a change from the final sentencing range
computed by examining the provisions of the Guidelines themselves.
See, e.g., U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual (“U.S.S.G.”) § 5K2.0. It
is frequently triggered by a prosecution request to reward cooperation,
see U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1, or by other factors that take the case “outside the
heartland” contemplated by the Sentencing Commission when it drafted
the Guidelines for a typical offense. See United States v. You, 382 F.3d
958, 967 (9th Cir. 2004). A “variance,” by contrast, occurs when a judge
imposes a sentence above or below the otherwise properly calculated
final sentencing range based on application of the other statutory factors
in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). See United States v. Autery, 555 F.3d 864, 872
2
n.7 (9th Cir. 2009) (quoting United States v. Smith, 474 F.3d 888, 896
n.3 (6th Cir. 2007) (Gibbons, J., concurring)).
United States v. Cruz-Perez, 567 F.3d 1142, 1146 (9th Cir. 2009).
Here, a review of the sentencing hearing reveals that the district court’s reasons
for imposing the above-Guidelines sentence are based on a variety of the factors
identified in § 3553(a), including the nature and circumstances of the offense, the
history and characteristics of Burruel, and the need for the sentence imposed. See
United States v. Vanderwerfhorst, 576 F.3d 929, 935 (9th Cir. 2009). As a variance
under § 3553(a), Rule 32(h) does not apply, and there was no error. Id.
Even assuming the district court imposed a “departure” rather than a “variance,”
we would nonetheless affirm because there is no plain error. At the outset of the
sentencing hearing, the court indicated the stipulated sentence was too lenient, pointed
out that the Guidelines were not binding on it, and inquired about the statutory
maximum for the crime. See United States v. Hernandez, 251 F.3d 1247, 1252 (9th
Cir. 2001) (notice at beginning of hearing sufficient). Moreover, Burruel cannot
demonstrate how he was prejudiced by the lack of notice; he does not suggest how his
argument would have differed had he received earlier notice. See Irizarry, 553 U.S.
at 716 (“Garden variety considerations of culpability, criminal history, likelihood of
re-offense, seriousness of the crime, nature of the conduct and so forth should not
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generally come as a surprise to trial lawyers who have prepared for sentencing.”)
(quoting United States v. Vega-Santiago, 519 F.3d 1, 5 (1st Cir.2008)). Any error did
not affect Burruel’s substantial rights.
AFFIRMED.
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