United States v. Ortiz-Carrasco

The First Circuit held that, regardless of whether or to what extent USSG 2L1.1(b)(7)(D) incorporates a causation requirement, the district court did not err in applying the enhancement in this case. Defendant was convicted and sentenced for crimes related to his involvement in a scheme to smuggle migrants from the Dominican Republic into the United States by a small fishing boat. The district court did not err, let alone clearly err, in finding a causal connection between defendant's actions and the death of one of the migrants. The district court also did not err when it found it reasonable that defendant's actions could create the sort of dangerous circumstances likely to result in death. View "United States v. Ortiz-Carrasco" on Justia Law