United States v. Gamboa-Cardenas

I agree with the majority that the government is estopped from arguing that the safety valve is unavailable to appellee Gamboa-Victoria. I further agree that the district court did not err by applying a two-level downward adjustment for acceptance of responsibility and I would also affirm Gamboa-Victoria’s 41 month sentence.

I respectfully disagree, however, with the majority’s conclusion that the safety valve provision of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f) unambiguously does not apply to offenses under 46 U.S.C. app. § 1903 (repealed *5072006).1 The majority’s reading of the relevant statutes is plausible,…