United States v. Sandoval-Gonzalez

OPINION

REINHARDT, Circuit Judge:

Gerardo Sandoval-Gonzalez was convicted under 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) for being an alien who reentered the United States after previously being deported. The jury at his trial, however, was not required to find beyond a reasonable doubt that Sandoval was an alien. Instead, the jury was told that “there is a presumption” of his alienage, and the burden of proof was shifted to Sandoval to establish that he had obtained American citizenship by having been born to a U.S. citizen father. We hold that this was error, and, moreover, a prejudicial error. Accordingly, we…