United States of America v. Jose Guadalupe Vargas-Frias

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
JOSE GUADALUPE VARGAS-FRIAS,
Defendant - Appellant.
No. 13-10347
D.C. No. 1:11-cr-00282-AWI
MEMORANDUM*
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of California
Anthony W. Ishii, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted May 13, 2015**
Before: LEAVY, CALLAHAN, and M. SMITH, Circuit Judges.
Jose Guadalupe Vargas-Frias appeals from the district court’s judgment and
challenges the 58-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for
being a deported alien found in the United States, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326.
Pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), Vargas-Frias’s counsel has
FILED
MAY 18 2015
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).

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filed a brief stating that there are no grounds for relief, along with a motion to
withdraw as counsel of record. Vargas-Frias has filed a pro se supplemental
opening brief, the government has filed an answering brief, and Vargas-Frias has
filed a pro se reply brief.
Our independent review of the record pursuant to Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S.
75, 80 (1988), discloses no arguable grounds for relief on direct appeal. We
decline to consider Vargas-Frias’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel on
direct appeal because the record is insufficiently developed to evaluate that claim,
and Vargas-Frias’s legal representation was not so inadequate as to obviously deny
his right to counsel. See United States v. Rahman, 642 F.3d 1257, 1259-60 (9th
Cir. 2011).
Counsel’s motion to withdraw is GRANTED.
AFFIRMED.
13-10347 2

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