NONPRECEDENTIAL DISPOSITION To be cited only in accordance with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit Chicago, Illinois 60604 Submitted May 3, 2018 Decided May 4, 2018 Before JOEL M. FLAUM, Circuit Judge FRANK H. EASTERBROOK, Circuit Judge AMY C. BARRETT, Circuit Judge No. 16-3892 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Appeal from the United States District Plaintiff-Appellee, Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. v. No. 14 CR 543-1 VICTOR MATA MADRIGAL, Defendant-Appellant. Amy J. St. Eve, Judge. ORDER Victor Mata Madrigal pleaded guilty to possessing cocaine with intent to distribute it, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A), and conspiring to distribute cocaine, id. § 846, and was sentenced to 276 months’ imprisonment and a five-year term of supervised release. Madrigal filed a notice of appeal, but his appointed lawyer asserts that the appeal is frivolous and moves to withdraw under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967). Madrigal did not respond to counsel’s motion. Because counsel’s analysis appears to be thorough, we limit our review to the subjects he discusses. See United States v. Bey, 748 F.3d 774, 776 (7th Cir. 2014); United States v. Wagner, 103 F.3d 551, 553 (7th Cir. 1996). No. 16-3892 Page 2 Madrigal is a Mexican national with no legal status in the United States. He and several codefendants, including his girlfriend Stephanie Arredondo, operated a drug trafficking organization in the Chicago area. The organization distributed wholesale quantities of illegal drugs, including an estimated 110 kilograms of cocaine. Madrigal was in charge of coordinating and supervising cocaine shipments to Michigan. In April 2013 Madrigal was arrested and detained on immigration charges, but he continued to provide instructions to his codefendants through Arrendondo. Arredondo, who discovered she was pregnant with Madrigal’s child the day of his arrest, collected debts and arranged drug trades at Madrigal’s direction. Madrigal later pleaded guilty, and was sentenced to 276 months’ imprisonment—below the recommended range of 360 months to life (based on an offense level of 39 and a criminal history category of VI). In his Anders brief, counsel informs us that Madrigal does not wish to withdraw his guilty plea, and thus counsel appropriately refrains from discussing the adequacy of the plea colloquy or the voluntariness of the plea. United States v. Konczak, 683 F.3d 348, 349 (7th Cir. 2012); United States v. Knox, 287 F.3d 667, 670–71 (7th Cir. 2002). Counsel first considers whether Madrigal could argue that the district court erred in imposing an upward adjustment for knowingly involving a pregnant individual (his girlfriend) in the distribution of a controlled substance, see U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(15)(B)(iii). At sentencing Madrigal disputed the application of the adjustment because Arredondo “voluntarily and willingly” chose to participate in the drug trafficking organization. But counsel recognizes that raising this argument on appeal would be frivolous because it does not adhere to the text of § 2D1.1(b)(15)(B)(iii); there is no exception for women who want to engage in drug trafficking. Because Madrigal knew that his girlfriend was ...
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals