United States v. Chagoya-Morales

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Chagoya‐Morales, a citizen of Mexico, illegally entered the U.S. In 2008, he was convicted of aggravated robbery. In 2009, he was deported. Chagoya‐Morales did not obtain permission to reenter. In 2015, Chicago Police conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle in which Chagoya‐Morales was a passenger. The officers allegedly observed Deantes using her cell phone while driving. Approaching Deantes’s car, the officers smelled a strong odor of cannabis emanating from the vehicle, conducted a pat down search of Chagoya‐Morales, and recovered a small plastic bag containing marijuana. Chagoya‐Morales was charged with illegal reentry into the U.S., 8 U.S.C. 1326(a) and 6 U.S.C. 202(4). Chagoya‐Morales filed a motion to suppress, arguing that the traffic stop was illegal and so that the government’s knowledge of his name and his immigration status should be suppressed as “fruit of the poisonous tree.” The Seventh Circuit upheld the denial of the motion and the addition of 16 offense levels under the “crime of violence” enhancement in U.S.S.G. 2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(ii). The Fourth Amendment does not prohibit police from requiring a person to identify himself, nor does it guarantee a defendant the right to conceal his identity during a criminal prosecution. Chagoya‐Morales’s prior 2008 conviction is a crime of violence under the guidelines. View "United States v. Chagoya-Morales" on Justia Law