United States Ninth Circuit

Sentence for violating the Controlled Substances Act is affirmed where: 1) the district court properly calculated defendant's criminal history score by counting his prior conviction under California Vehicle Code section 23140(a), which makes it unlawful for a person younger than twenty-one years of age to drive with a blood-alcohol content (BAC) of .05% or greater, similar to a conviction for driving while intoxicated or under the influence; and 2) applying a “common sense” interpretation to the guidelines and the statute at issue, a violation of section 23140(a) is not similar to a juvenile status offense.

Appellate Information

• Decided 06/15/2011
• Published 06/15/2011

Judges

• Tallman

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel