United States v. Alex Medrano

FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
MAR 09 2018
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Nos. 15-50272
16-50192
Plaintiff-Appellant, 16-50341
17-50249
v.
D.C. No. 2:14-cr-00556-R-1
ALEX ROMERO MEDRANO, AKA
Dreamer,
MEMORANDUM*
Defendant-Appellee.
Appeals from the United States District Court
for the Central District of California
Manuel L. Real, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted March 7, 2018**
Pasadena, California
Before: REINHARDT, TASHIMA, and NGUYEN, Circuit Judges.
1. “[A] statutory minimum sentence is mandatory.” United States v. Sykes, 658
F.3d 1140, 1146 (9th Cir. 2011). A district court does not have authority under 18
U.S.C. § 3553(a) to impose a sentence below the statutory minimum. United States
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
v. Wipf, 620 F.3d 1168, 1171 (9th Cir. 2010). The district court erred by unlawfully
sentencing Appellee Alex Medrano to a probationary sentence below the mandatory
minimum as required by 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(B).
2. Medrano argues that a five-year sentence violates the Eighth Amendment.
Our precedent forecloses this challenge. See, e.g., Harmelin v. Michigan, 501 U.S.
957, 1001 (1991) (Kennedy, J., concurring in part and concurring in the judgment)
(“The Eighth Amendment . . . forbids only extreme sentences that are ‘grossly
disproportionate’ to the crime.” (quoting Solem v. Helm, 463 U.S. 277, 288
(1983)); United States v. Jensen, 425 F.3d 698, 708 (9th Cir. 2005) (holding
imposition of a life sentence for a first-time conviction for drug possession does
not violate the Eighth Amendment).
3. Because the district court’s initial probationary sentence was unlawful, we
must vacate the subsequent sentences following revocation, which are “part of the
penalty for the initial offense.” Johnson v. United States, 529 U.S. 694, 700 (2000).
We therefore VACATE the sentences in each of these consolidated appeals
and REMAND for resentencing on the offense of conviction in accordance with
the mandatory minimum required by 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(B).
2