Fuentes-Espinoza v. People


Opinions of the Colorado Supreme Court are available to the public and can be accessed through the Judicial Branch’s homepage at http://www.courts.state.co.us. Opinions are also posted on the Colorado Bar Association’s homepage at http://www.cobar.org. ADVANCE SHEET HEADNOTE October 10, 2017 2017 CO 98 No. 13SC128 Fuentes-Espinoza v. People— Alien Smuggling—Field Preemption— Conflict Preemption. This case requires the supreme court to determine whether Colorado’s human smuggling statute, section 18-13-128, C.R.S. (2017), is preempted by the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. §§ 1101–1537 (2017) (“INA”). The supreme court concludes that the INA preempts section 18-13-128 under the doctrines of both field and conflict preemption. In reaching this conclusion, the court agrees with a number of federal circuit courts that have reviewed the same INA provisions at issue here and have determined that those provisions create a comprehensive framework to penalize the transportation, concealment, and inducement of unlawfully present aliens and thus evince a congressional intent to occupy the field criminalizing such conduct. In addition, applying the analyses set forth in those federal decisions, the court concludes that section 18-13-128, like the state human smuggling statutes at issue in the federal cases, stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of Congress’s purposes and objectives in enacting its comprehensive framework. Accordingly, the supreme court reverses petitioner’s judgment of conviction under section 18-13-128. The Supreme Court of the State of Colorado 2 East 14th Avenue • Denver, Colorado 80203 2017 CO 98 Supreme Court Case No. 13SC128 Certiorari to the Colorado Court of Appeals Court of Appeals Case No. 08CA1231 Petitioner: Bernardino Fuentes-Espinoza, v. Respondent: The People of the State of Colorado. Judgment Reversed en banc October 10, 2017 Attorneys for Petitioner: Douglas K. Wilson, Public Defender Ned R. Jaeckle, Deputy Public Defender Denver, Colorado Attorneys for Respondent: Cynthia H. Coffman, Attorney General John T. Lee, Assistant Attorney General Denver, Colorado Attorneys for Amici Curiae The National Immigration Law Center, Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, American Civil Liberties Union of Colorado, and South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center: The Meyer Law Office Hans Meyer Denver, Colorado The National Immigration Law Center Nicholás Espíritu Melissa Keaney Los Angeles, California JUSTICE GABRIEL delivered the Opinion of the Court.* JUSTICE EID dissents, and JUSTICE COATS and JUSTICE BOATRIGHT join in the dissent *This opinion was originally assigned to another Justice but was reassigned to Justice Gabriel on June 15, 2017. ¶1 In this case, petitioner Bernardino Fuentes-Espinoza challenges his convictions under Colorado’s human smuggling statute, section 18-13-128, C.R.S. (2017), on the ground that that statute is preempted by the federal Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. §§ 1101–1537 (2017) (“INA”).1 The court of appeals division below did not consider Fuentes-Espinoza’s preemption argument because it was unpreserved. People v. Fuentes-Espinoza, 2013 COA 1, ¶ 16, ___ P.3d ___. We, however, choose to exercise our discretion to review that argument and conclude that the INA preempts section 18-13-128 under the doctrines of both field and conflict preemption. ¶2 In reaching this conclusion, we agree with a number ...

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Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals