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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. DAISY GUADALUPE FIGUEROA, Defendant-Appellant.
MEMORANDUM*
Daisy Guadalupe Figueroa appeals from the district court's judgment and challenges the 30-month sentence imposed following her guilty-plea conviction for importation of heroin, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 952, 960. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we vacate and remand for resentencing.
Figueroa argues that the district court erred in denying a minor role reduction to her base level offense under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2(b). After Figueroa was sentenced, the United States Sentencing Commission issued Amendment 794 (“the Amendment”), which amended the commentary to the minor role Guideline. The Amendment is retroactive to cases pending on direct appeal. See United States v. Quintero-Levya, 823 F.3d 519, 523 (9th Cir. 2016).
The Amendment clarified that, in assessing whether a defendant should receive a minor role adjustment, the court should compare her to the other participants in the crime, rather than to a hypothetical average participant. See U.S.S.G. App. C. Amend. 794; Quintero-Levya, 823 F.3d at 523. In addition, the Amendment clarified that “[t]he fact that a defendant performs an essential or indispensable role in the criminal activity is not determinative.” U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2 cmt. n.3(C) (2015). Finally, the Amendment added a non-exhaustive list of factors that a court “should consider” in determining whether to apply a minor role reduction. See id. Because we cannot determine from the record whether the district court followed the guidance of the Amendment's clarifying language and considered all of the now-relevant factors, we vacate Figueroa's sentence and remand for resentencing. See Quintero-Levya, 823 F.3d at 523-24.
VACATED and REMANDED for resentencing.
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Docket No: No. 15-50432
Decided: January 24, 2017
Court: United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.
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