Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc. takes great pride in our outstanding advocacy for our clients before the trial courts as well as on appeal before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Recent appellate successes of FDSDI attorneys include:

• United States v. Lopez, 998 F.3d 431, 433 (9th Cir. 2021).  The Ninth Circuit held, as a matter of first impression, that an individual is barred from safety valve relief under § 3553(f)(1) only if the individual has (A) more than four criminal-history points, (B) a prior three-point offense, and (C) a prior two-point violent offense.  In other words, “§ 3553(f)(1)’s ‘and’ is unambiguously conjunctive.  Put another way, we hold that ‘and’ means ‘and.’”

• United States v. Martinez-Lopez, ___ F. App’x ___,  2021 WL 351966 (9th Cir. Feb. 2, 2021).  The Ninth Circuit held the government breached the plea agreement when, due to a “miscommunication,” the attorney appearing at sentencing recommended a sentence inconsistent with the government’s prior Guideline calculations. The panel also held that upon remand the sentencing judge could not treat a prior California sentence to county jail as exceeding thirteen months in the absence of any evidence of a waiver under People v. Johnson, 82 Cal.App.3d 183, 147 Cal. Rptr. 55, 58 (1978).