United States V. Cordoza-Estrada

On August 22, 2001, Defendant-Appellant Silverio Cordoza-Estrada, a citizen of Mexico, was convicted of simple assault in New Hampshire state district court for punching a man in the face, breaking his nose. He was sentenced to twelve months of imprisonment with ten months suspended. Following this conviction, Cordoza-Estrada was deported. Two years later, he was arrested at his place of work in Hudson, New Hampshire. After pleading guilty to a one-count information, Cordoza-Estrada was convicted of re-entering the United States after being deported, in violation of 8 U.S.C. §§ 1326(a) and 1326(b)(2), and sentenced to eighteen months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release. He now appeals his sentence, arguing that his prior conviction for a simple assault was a misdemeanor under New Hampshire law and should not have been treated as an "aggravated felony" under § 1326(b)(2) or U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual ("U.S.S.G.") § 2L1.2(b)(1)(C) (Nov. 2002). Appellant also argues that his sentence is invalid under Blakely v. Washington, 124 S. Ct. 2531 (2004).