United States v. Livan Alfonso Raad

Livan Alfonso Raad appeals his sixty-month sentence, imposed following his guilty plea for three counts of smuggling aliens for financial gain, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324. The issue presented is whether the mandatory minimum sentence prescribed under § 1324 violates the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. 1 We hold that it does not.

Raad, indicted for sixty-seven counts relating to alien smuggling, pleaded guilty to three counts of smuggling aliens for financial gain, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324. Although the district court calculated Raad’s sentencing…