To determine whether a plea agreement was breached a federal court must "consider whether the government's conduct is consistent with the defendant's reasonable understanding of the agreement." United States v. Hinojosa, 749 F.3d 407, 413 (5th Cir. 2014); United States v. Barnes, 730 F.3d 456, 457 (5th Cir. 2013).
Id. Legal conclusions are reviewed de novo and factual findings are reviewed for clear error. United States v. Hinojosa, 749 F.3d 407, 411 (5th Cir. 2014). When a defendant challenges the methodology of a sentence calculation, the panel reviews de novo.
But "the Alleyne opinion did not imply that the traditional fact-finding on relevant conduct, to the extent it increases the discretionary sentencing range for a district judge under the Guidelines, must... be made by jurors." United States v. Hinoiosa. 749 F.3d 407, 412 (5th Cir. 2014) (citing United States v. Booker. 543 U.S. 220, 257 (2005)). Indeed, "[a]fter rendering the verdict, the jury's role [is] completed, it [is] discharged, and the judge [begins] the process of determining where within that range to set [a defendant's] sentence."
To determine whether a plea agreement was breached, the court considers "whether the government's conduct is consistent with the defendant's reasonable understanding of the agreement." United States v. Hinojosa, 749 F.3d 407, 413 (5th Cir. 2014). Here, the terms of the written plea agreement provide that Hernandez understood that any estimate he might have received about how the guidelines might be applied to his case was not a promise.
We review the district court's application of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines de novo and its findings of fact at sentencing for clear error. United States v. Hinojosa, 749 F.3d 407, 411 (5th Cir. 2014). "Issues related to a defendant's sentence are reviewed for reasonableness" using a two-step process: we first "ensure that the district court committed no significant procedural error" and then "consider the substantive reasonableness of the sentence imposed." United States v. Claiborne, 676 F.3d 434, 437 (5th Cir. 2012) (per curiam) (brackets and internal quotation marks omitted).
Testimony can support the verdict if it demonstrates that the amount of drugs attributed to the defendant meets the statutory threshold. See, e.g., United States v. Wallace, 759 F.3d 486, 492-93 (5th Cir. 2014); United States v. Hinojosa, 749 F.3d 407, 415 (5th Cir. 2014). The jury can find a drug quantity by extrapolating from the testimony.
"If those requirements are met, the reviewing court may in its discretion remedy the error only if it (4) seriously affects the fairness, integrity or public reputation of the judicial proceedings." United States v. Hinojosa , 749 F.3d 407, 411 (5th Cir. 2014). If the unpreserved error does not meet this demanding plain error standard, the court does not have authority to correct it. Puckett , 556 U.S. at 135, 129 S.Ct. 1423.b. Applicable Law and Analysis
In determining whether a breach occurred, this court decides "whether the Government's conduct is consistent with the defendant's reasonable understanding of the agreement." United States v. Hinojosa , 749 F.3d 407, 413 (5th Cir. 2014) (internal quotation marks omitted). A defendant's subjective belief about the agreement's terms may not constitute a reasonable understanding and may not be sufficient to establish a breach.
The Government concedes that Gonzalez-Loya meets the standard for plain error and does not oppose remand for resentencing. Cf. United States v. Hinojosa, 749 F.3d 407, 413 (5th Cir. 2014) ("On occasions when the PSR or district court mistakenly applies a higher statutory minimum sentence, resentencing often occurs as a matter of course because the Government concedes the error."). We agree.
Neither Apprendi nor Alleyne applies to sentencing guidelines. See United States v. Hinojosa, 749 F.3d 407, 412–13 (5th Cir.2014). Therefore, his argument is without merit and we find no error.