(DOWNLOAD) "United States v. Perez-Valdez" by Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals # eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free

eBook details

Title: United States v. Perez-Valdez
Author : Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals
Release Date : January 22, 1999
Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
Pages : * pages
Size : 52 KB

Description

Summary Calendar Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas Appellant, Alfonso Perez-Valdez (Perez), appeals his conviction on two counts of bringing aliens into the United States for commercial advantage or personal financial gain, in violation of 8 U.S.C. 1324(a)(2)(B)(ii). Perez contends that the district court erred in refusing to give proposed instructions which would have excluded from the statute's scope a defendant who brings aliens into the United States solely in return for his own entry or transportation. Perez' proposed instructions are based primarily on a comment to the 1996 Sentencing Guidelines, § 2L1.1 which provides, for sentence enhancement purposes, that an alien smuggler acting for commercial advantage or financial gain does not include one who acts solely in return for entry or transportation into the country. This court reviews the refusal to provide a requested jury instruction for an abuse of discretion. United States v. Asibor, 109 F.3d 1023, 1034 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 118 S. Ct. 638 (1997). District courts enjoy substantial latitude in formulating jury instructions. Id. Accordingly, this court will reverse only if the requested jury instruction: (1) was a substantially correct statement of the law; (2) was not substantially covered in the charge as a whole; and (3) concerned an important point in the trial, the omission of which seriously impaired the defendant's ability to present an effective defense. Id.