United States v. Vidal

Opinion by Judge PAEZ; Dissent by Judge CALLAHAN; Dissent by Judge KOZINSKI.

PAEZ, Circuit Judge:

Following Juan Jose Vidal’s plea of guilty to a violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326, the district court imposed an eight-level sentence enhancement, pursuant to United States Sentencing Guidelines (“Guidelines” or “U.S.S.G.”) § 2L1.2(b)(l)(C) (2002),1 based on Vidal’s 1994 conviction under California Vehicle Code section 10851(a), which criminalizes “theft and unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle.”

In this appeal, we consider whether a prior conviction for a violation of section 10851(a) qualifies as an…