United States v. Enite Alindor


Case: 18-12586 Date Filed: 01/13/2020 Page: 1 of 15 [DO NOT PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________ No. 18-12586 Non-Argument Calendar ________________________ D.C. Docket No. 8:17-cr-00270-VMC-MAP-1 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus ENITE ALINDOR, a.k.a. Odette Dureland, a.k.a. Yvrose Policin, Defendant-Appellant. ________________________ Appeals from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida ________________________ (January 13, 2020) Before MARTIN, ROSENBAUM and HULL, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Case: 18-12586 Date Filed: 01/13/2020 Page: 2 of 15 After a jury trial, defendant Enite Alindor, also known as Odette Dureland and Yvrose Policin, appeals her convictions for knowingly making false statements to procure naturalization, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1425(a) (“Count 1”), and knowingly making false statements under oath in a proceeding relating to the naturalization and citizenship of an alien, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1015(a) (“Count 2”). On appeal, Alindor argues: (1) that there was insufficient evidence to sustain her § 1425(a) conviction on Count 1 under the disqualifying fact-based theory outlined in Maslenjak v. United States, 582 U.S. ___, 137 S. Ct. 1918 (2017); and (2) that the district court erred in denying her motions to redact the indictment, to exclude evidence concerning her 2006 arrest, and to take judicial notice. After review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm. I. DISCUSSION As the parties are familiar with the facts of this case, we do not recount them in detail. We include only those facts necessary to address the particular issues Alindor raises on appeal. As to Count 1,1 Alindor argues that the government failed to present evidence that she knowingly procured naturalization under Maslenjak’s 1 Alindor does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the jury’s verdict on Count 2. The district court sentenced Alindor to 5 months’ imprisonment on each count, to be served concurrently, and three years of supervised release on each count, also to be served concurrently. Alindor has completed her term of incarceration. 2 Case: 18-12586 Date Filed: 01/13/2020 Page: 3 of 15 disqualifying fact-based theory, the only theory of guilt found by the jury. We discuss Maslenjak first. A. Supreme Court’s Maslenjak Section 1425(a) makes it a crime for a person to “knowingly procure[ ] or attempt[ ] to procure, contrary to law, the naturalization of any person, or documentary or other evidence of naturalization or of citizenship.” 18 U.S.C. § 1425(a). In Maslenjak, the Supreme Court held that § 1425(a)’s “contrary to law” element requires not only that the defendant committed some other illegal act in the course of procuring naturalization, but that the defendant’s other illegal act must have “played some role in” the acquisition of naturalization. Id. at ___, 137 S. Ct. at 1923-1925, 1927. Thus, where the defendant’s alleged other illegal act is making a false statement, the government must prove a “means-end connection,” or “causal influence,” between the defendant’s false statement and her naturalization. Id. at ___, 137 S. Ct. at 1923, 1925-27. This is ...

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