United States v. Salazar-Mojica, 09-50632

Subject Matter: Criminal Law

Holding: The 9th Circuit panel affirmed a sentence imposed following the defendant's guilty plea to being a deported alien found in the United States in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326.

The panel held that the relevant time for determining whether a prior conviction was a felony, for purposes of an enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A), is the time of the defendant's deportation, and the fact that a state court subsequently reduced the defendant's assault conviction (under "wobbler" statute Calif. Penal Code § 245) from felony to misdemeanor status therefore has no impact on the applicability of the §

2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(ii) enhancement.