USA v. Julio Acuna

Filing

Opinion issued by court as to Appellant Julio Acuna. Decision: Affirmed. Opinion type: Non-Published. Opinion method: Per Curiam. The opinion is also available through the Court's Opinions page at this link http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions.

Case: 17-10085

Date Filed: 04/10/2018

Page: 1 of 3

[DO NOT PUBLISH]

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
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No. 17-10085
Non-Argument Calendar
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D.C. Docket No. 1:04-cr-20159-FAM-6

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
JULIO ACUNA,
a.k.a. Chino,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida
________________________
(April 10, 2018)
Before MARCUS, ROSENBAUM, and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:

Case: 17-10085

Date Filed: 04/10/2018

Page: 2 of 3

Julio Acuna appeals the district court’s denial of his motion for clarification
of his offense of conviction, which is construed as a motion to correct a clerical
error under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 36. On appeal, he argues that the
district court erred in refusing to correct a discrepancy between the judgment,
which indicated that he had been convicted under 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d), and
notations on the district court docket sheet, which indicated that his § 1962(d)
charge had been dismissed and he had been convicted under 18 U.S.C. § 1963
instead.
We review the district court’s application of Rule 36 de novo. United States
v. Davis, 841 F.3d 1253, 1261 (11th Cir. 2016), cert. denied, 137 S. Ct. 2318
(2017).
Rule 36 provides that “the court may at any time correct a clerical error in a
judgment, order, or other part of the record, or correct an error in the record arising
from oversight or omission.” Fed. R. Crim. P. 36. This rule applies only to
clerical mistakes, and cannot be used to make substantive changes to a criminal
sentence. United States v. Portillo, 363 F.3d 1161, 1164 (11th Cir. 2004)
(concluding that the district court properly applied Rule 36 to correct a clerical
error in the judgment so that the judgment corresponded with the oral
pronouncement of the sentence). When there is a clerical error in the judgment, we

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Case: 17-10085

Date Filed: 04/10/2018

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may remand with instructions to correct the error. United States v. James, 642
F.3d 1333, 1343 (11th Cir. 2011).
Section 1962, titled “Prohibited Activities,” describes racketeering conduct
that is unlawful. See 18 U.S.C. § 1962. Section 1962(d) specifically prohibits
conspiring to violate any of the provisions contained in the preceding subsections.
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d). Section 1963, called “Criminal Penalties,” establishes the
penalties for violating § 1962, including imprisonment and forfeiture. 18 U.S.C.
§1963. The section provides that an individual who violates § 1962 shall be
imprisoned for life if the violation is based on a racketeering activity for which the
maximum penalty includes life imprisonment. 18 U.S.C. § 1963(a).
Here, it is clear that Acuna was convicted under § 1962(d), and his judgment
properly reflects that. The notations on the district court docket sheet indicating
that the § 1962(d) charge was dismissed and that Acuna was convicted under
§ 1963, therefore, are erroneous. Though such error is the kind of clerical mistake
subject to correction under Rule 36, the error is harmless and has not resulted in
any prejudice to Acuna, and the discretionary language of the Rule directs that the
district court is under no obligation to correct it.
AFFIRMED.

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