October 22, 2007 Ninth Circuit Opinions
On Oct. 22, 2007, the Ninth Circuit issued two published decisions, and one published order:
In U.S. V. Perez-Perez, the Ninth Circuit affirmed the sentence imposed for illegal re-entry after being deported. . The Court held that the sentencing court is not required to address a defendant’s reasons for a downward departure from sentencing guidelines, but must only give reasons for the sentence imposed.
In U.S .v. Rodriguez-Guzman, the Ninth Circuit held that California’s statutory rape law, California Penal Code § 261.5(c), which sets the age of consent at 18, is overly inclusive, and cannot be consider a categorical crime of violence under the sentencing guidelines. The majority reasoned that as the vast majority of the states, the federal law, and the Model Penal Code define the age of consent for purposes of statutory rape at 16 so that California’s definition exceeds the common and accepted definition. The Court held that statutory rape is a per se crime of violence.
In Barajas v. Wise, the Ninth Circuit granted the motion for panel rehearing, withdrew the opinion published at 481 F.3d 734 (9th Cir. 2007) and resolved the matter in an unpublished decision.
