Friday's Ninth Circuit Opinions
In U.S. v. Ruiz-Chairez, the Ninth Circuit affirmed a level 16 sentence enhancement for the offense of being in the U.S. after being deported. The Court rejected an equal protection claim based on the fact that the underlying basis of the enhancement, prior convictions of drug trafficking and a crime of violence, would result in a lower enhancement level for offenses other than presence in the U.S. after deportation.
In U.S. v. Forrester, the Ninth Circuit reversed the conviction of Forrester, finding him improperly advised where, when warned of the dangers of self-representation, he was not informed of the charge against, and was advised that he faced ten years in prison, when the maximum penalty was actually twenty years. In the same opinion, the Court affirmed the conviction of Dennis Louis Alba, finding that computer surveillance analogous to a pen register, and not a search for Fourth Amendment purposes.
In U.S. v. Moran, the Ninth Circuit amended the opinion originally filed April 2, 2007 by deleting the word “tax” where it appeared before “schemes.” The Court also inserted a footnote. The outcome was unchanged.
