United States v. Maria Lopez

FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION DEC 09 2014
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 13-50071
Plaintiff - Appellee, D.C. No. 3:12-cr-04340-GPC-1
v.
MEMORANDUM*
MARIA LUISA LOPEZ,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of California
Gonzalo P. Curiel, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted December 18, 2013**
Before: HUG, FARRIS, and LEAVY, Circuit Judges.
Maria Luisa Lopez appeals from the district court’s judgment and challenges
the 63-month sentence imposed following her guilty-plea conviction for
importation of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 952 and 960. We have
jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.§ 1291, and we affirm.
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
Lopez contends that the district court procedurally erred in a number of
ways when it denied her a minor role adjustment and sentenced her to 63 months in
prison. We need not determine whether there were any procedural errors because
it is apparent from the record that any error was harmless. See United States v.
Leal-Vega, 680 F.3d 1160, 1170 (9th Cir. 2012) (recognizing that harmless error
review applies when the court errs in the Guidelines calculation). The district court
imposed a two-level variance primarily because it had not granted Lopez a minor
role adjustment, and it imposed a sentence that is within the Sentencing Guidelines
range that would have resulted had the court granted a minor role adjustment.
Moreover, the record leaves no doubt that the district court would not have
imposed a lower sentence absent the asserted procedural errors.
Lopez also contends that the 63-month sentence is substantively
unreasonable. The sentence is not substantively unreasonable in light of the
totality of the circumstances and the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors, including the
need to avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities and provide deterrence, the large
quantity of cocaine involved in the offense, the fact that Lopez was the one who
was bringing the drugs into the United States, and Lopez’s actions in supplying the
car for the offense and bringing her minor children with her during the offense.
See Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007).
2
AFFIRMED.
3