US v. Quintana, No. 09-2749

Reentry Conviction Affirmed

In US v. Quintana, No. 09-2749, the court affirmed defendant's conviction for re-entry by a deported alien following an aggravated felony conviction, holding that 1) the district court did not abuse its discretion, much less commit plain error, in relying on an officer's affidavit without a hearing; 2) the Border Patrol made a sufficient showing of probable cause to believe that defendant was a deportable alien; and 3) the government did not need to prove that use of the IAFIS/IDENT system was the quickest means of investigation reasonably available to determine whether defendant was in the country illegally.

As the court wrote:  "Fidel Diaz-Quintana conditionally pleaded guilty to re-entry by a deported alien following an aggravated felony conviction. See 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) & (b)(2). Diaz-Quintana appeals the district court's denial of his motion to suppress, arguing that his
lengthy detention following a traffic stop violated the Fourth Amendment because immigration officials may only "briefly detain [an alien] for questioning" when they have reasonable suspicion that he is illegally in the United States."

Related Resources

• Read the Eighth Circuit's Decision in US v. Quintana, No. 09-2749