US v. Perez-Molina, 10-2427

Challenge to the sentence in conviction for unlawful entry

US v. Perez-Molina, 10-2427, concerned a challenge to the district court's imposition of 34-month sentence, more than twice as long as the high end of the applicable sentencing guideline range, in a conviction of defendant for unlawful entry into the United States following removal.  In affirming the sentence, the court held that the district court adequately justified its above-guideline sentence and acted well within its discretion by imposing a higher sentence to deter the defendant from continued reentry and criminal activity in the United States.

As the court wrote: "Besides noting Perez-Molina's extensive history of illegal entry and crime, the court commented upon his personal characteristics, including his search for a better life, his family's residing in the United States, and his ability to earn money in the United States, and the particular need to deter him from further reentry, since there was "nothing for him in Mexico."

Related Link:

• Read the Seventh Circuit's Full Decision in US v. Perez-Molina, 10-2427