EEOC v. Liberal R-II School

1 The Honorable Ronald E. Longstaff, Chief Judge, United States District Court
for the Southern District of Iowa.
United States Court of Appeals
FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT
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No. 02-2482
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United States of America, *
*
Appellee, *
* Appeal from the United States
v. * District Court for the
* Southern District of Iowa.
Manuel Saenz-Salas, *
* [UNPUBLISHED]
Appellant. *
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Submitted: December 20, 2002
Filed: December 30, 2002
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Before MORRIS SHEPPARD ARNOLD, MURPHY, and MELLOY, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
Manuel Saenz-Salas pleaded guilty to intentionally reentering the United States
without permission following his conviction for an aggravated felony and subsequent
deportation, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) and (b)(2). At sentencing, the district
court 1 denied Saenz-Salas’s request for a downward departure based on the
overrepresentation of his criminal history, and then sentenced him to 41 months
imprisonment and 3 years supervised release.

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-2-
On appeal, Saenz-Salas’s counsel has filed a brief and moved to withdraw
under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), arguing the district court abused its
discretion in denying the downward departure. We conclude that the ruling is
unreviewable, because the district court’s refusal to depart was a discretionary
decision. See United States v. Lopez-Arce, 267 F.3d 775, 783-84 (8th Cir. 2001).
Upon reviewing the record independently under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75 (1988),
we have found no nonfrivolous issues. Accordingly, we affirm. We also grant
counsel’s motion to withdraw.
A true copy.
Attest:
CLERK, U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, EIGHTH CIRCUIT.

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