United States v. Justo Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243 (9th Cir. 2003). · Go Syfert
United States v. Justo Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243 (9th Cir. 2003). Cases Citing This Book View Copy Cite
“issues that were not presented to the district court generally cannot be raised for the first time on appeal.”
66 citation events (66 in the last 25 years) across 4 distinct courts.
Strongest positive: Nagrampa v. Mailcoups, Inc. (ca9, 2006-12-04)
Treatment trajectory · 2004 → 2026 · click a year to view as-of
2004 2015 2026
Top citers, strongest first. 42 distinct citers.
discussed Cited as authority (quoted) Nagrampa v. Mailcoups, Inc.
9th Cir. · 2006 · quote attribution · 1 verbatim quote · confidence low
issues that were not presented to the district court generally cannot be raised for the first time on appeal.
discussed Cited as authority (quoted) Nagrampa v. Mailcoups, Inc.
9th Cir. · 2005 · signal: see · quote attribution · 1 verbatim quote · confidence high
issues that were not presented to the district court generally cannot be raised for the first time on appeal.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Gomez-Leon (2×)
9th Cir. · 2008 · confidence medium
United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1248-49 (9th Cir.2003) (also interpreting prior version of the Guidelines).
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Jimenez
9th Cir. · 2008 · confidence medium
United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1246 (9th Cir. 2003).
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Jimenez
9th Cir. · 2008 · confidence medium
United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1246 (9th Cir.2003).
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Vicente Alvarez-Hernandez
9th Cir. · 2007 · confidence medium
United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1249 (9th Cir.2003). 1 Our sister circuits reached similar conclusions.
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Alvarez-Hernandez
9th Cir. · 2007 · confidence medium
United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1249 (9th Cir. 2003).1 Our sister circuits reached similar conclusions.
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Juan Espinoza-Cano
9th Cir. · 2006 · confidence medium
United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1246 (9th Cir.2003).
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Espinoza-Cano
9th Cir. · 2006 · confidence medium
United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1246 (9th Cir. 2003).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Guillermo Pintado-Isiordia
9th Cir. · 2006 · confidence medium
We cannot tell from the record, however, on what basis the district court concluded that Pintado-Isiordia’s conviction qualified as a “crime of violence.” In particular, it is unclear whether the district court relied on Taylor’s categorical approach, see Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575, 599 , 110 S.Ct. 2143 , 109 L.Ed.2d 607 (1990), or the modified categorical approach, see United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1246 (9th Cir.2003).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Pintado-Isiordia
9th Cir. · 2006 · confidence medium
But such speculation does not permit us to ignore con- trolling Supreme Court authority.”). [7] We cannot tell from the record, however, on what basis the district court concluded that Pintado-Isiordia’s conviction qualified as a “crime of violence.” In particular, it is unclear whether the district court relied on Taylor’s categorical approach, see Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575, 599 (1990), or the modified categorical approach, see United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1246 (9th Cir. 2003).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Juan Villa-Lara (2×) also: Cited "see"
9th Cir. · 2006 · confidence medium
Under the Taylor “categorical” approach, we first look only to the fact of conviction and the Nevada statute’s definition of the offense to determine whether Villa-Lara’s prior conviction qualifies for the Sentencing Guidelines enhancement. *965 See United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1246 (9th Cir.2003).
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Camarillo-De La Cruz
5th Cir. · 2006 · confidence medium
See id. at 456 (citing United States v. Mullings, 330 F.3d 123, 124-25 (2d Cir.2003); United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1249 (9th Cir.2003)).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Marlon Jason Horatio Phillips
11th Cir. · 2005 · confidence medium
The Ninth Circuit in United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1247, 1249 (9th Cir.2003), concluded that a defendant’s prior felony conviction for the attempted sale of narcotics qualified as a drug trafficking offense for the purposes of this guideline enhancement.
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Smith
9th Cir. · 2005 · confidence medium
E.g., United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1248 (9th Cir. 2003).
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Timothy Dean Smith
9th Cir. · 2004 · confidence medium
E.g., United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1248 (9th Cir.2003).
examined Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Misael Hernandez-Hernandez (4×) also: Cited "see"
9th Cir. · 2004 · confidence medium
See United States v. Ferreboeuf, 632 F.2d 832, 836 (9th Cir.1980) (holding that “when a stipulation to a crucial fact is entered into the record in open court in the presence of the defendant, and is agreed to by defendant’s acknowledged counsel, the trial court may reasonably assume that the defendant is aware of the content of the stipulation and agreed to it through his or her attorney”); see also United States v. Bentson, 947 F.2d 1353, 1356 (9th Cir. 1991) (finding that defendant was bound by his attorney’s admission during closing argument); Rodriguez-Gonzalez v. INS, 640 F.2d 11…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Calderon-Pena
5th Cir. · 2004 · confidence medium
In a nutshell, because the pared-down child endanger- ment statute requires that a defendant have intentionally created (...continued) object to PSR’s factual characterization of his conduct); United States v. Valladares, 304 F.3d 1300, 1303 (8th Cir. 2002) (stating that “when the statutory definition of a predicate offense encom- passes conduct that may or may not be included in the applicable guideline, the sentencing court may look to the underlying charging papers and jury instructions to determine the elements of the crime which the defendant was convicted” (citation omitted)). 9 Se…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Pedro Calderon-Pena (2×)
5th Cir. · 2004 · confidence medium
Notes: 1 See, e.g., U.S. v. Shepard, 348 F.3d 308, 312-13 (1st Cir.2003) (recognizing that Taylor allows that courts may look at the charging papers and jury instructions to identify the crime of conviction; noting that the First Circuit has approved "resort to pre-sentence reports but only to determine the character of the criminal offense for which the criminal was convicted (not whether violence was or was not used on the particular occasion) ... where that determination cannot be made from the statutory language itself or from the charging documents" and those documents are reliable). 2 Se…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Angel Garcia-Gomez (2×)
9th Cir. · 2004 · confidence medium
United States v. Mendoza-Morales, 347 F.3d 772, 776 (9th Cir.2003) (“[H]ow a state characterizes its own offenses and sentences generally is not relevant to a federal sentence calculation.”); United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1248 (9th Cir.2003). *1172 The defining characteristic of a “suspended sentence” under the United States Sentencing Guidelines is that it is suspended by a judicial officer, rather than an executive agency.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Hernandez-Hernandez (2×) also: Cited "see"
9th Cir. · 2004 · confidence medium
See United States v. Ferreboeuf, 632 F.2d 832, 836 (9th Cir.1980) (holding that “when a stipulation to a crucial fact is entered into the record in open court in the presence of the defendant, and is agreed to by defendant’s acknowledged counsel, the trial court may reasonably assume that the defendant is aware of the content of the stipulation and agreed to it through his or her attorney”); see also United States v. Bentson, 947 F.2d 1353, 1356 (9th Cir. 1991) (finding that defendant was bound by his attorney’s admission during closing argument); Rodriguez-Gonzalez v. INS, 640 F.2d 11…
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. David Benitez-Perez (2×) also: Cited "see"
9th Cir. · 2004 · confidence medium
We review the district court’s decision that a prior conviction is a qualifying offense de novo, United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1246 (9th Cir.2003), and we affirm. *1202 I In the summer of 2002, local authorities in Reno, Nevada were dispatched to a motel on a domestic battery complaint.
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. John Gilbert Kovac
9th Cir. · 2004 · confidence medium
While a complaint or indictment can be one component of the required underlying documentation, see United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1248 (9th Cir.2003), as a charging paper, it alone is not sufficient, see United States v. Parker, 5 F.3d 1322, 1327 (9th Cir.1993).
cited Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Jose Luis Navidad-Marcos
9th Cir. · 2004 · confidence medium
United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1246 (9th Cir.2003).
discussed Cited as authority (rule) United States v. Hahn (2×)
10th Cir. · 2004 · confidence medium
In other words, the defendant waives the right to appeal the sentence imposed in this case except to the extent, if any, that the Court may depart upwards from the applicable sentencing guideline range as determined by the Court. 3 See, e.g., United States v. Hurlich, 348 F.3d 1219, 1220 (10th Cir.2003) (exercising jurisdiction under both § 1291 and § 3742(a) when the defendant challenged only his sentence); United States v. Castro-Rocha, 323 F.3d 846, 847 (10th Cir.2003) (same); United States v. Vasquez-Flores, 265 F.3d 1122, 1123 (10th Cir.2001) (same). 4 See, e.g., United States v. Vasque…
cited Cited "see" United States v. Carlos Valenzuela-Quintero
9th Cir. · 2011 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Hernandez- Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1249 (9th Cir. 2003).
cited Cited "see" United States v. Acosta
9th Cir. · 2009 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1247-48 (9th Cir.2003).
cited Cited "see" United States v. Acosta
9th Cir. · 2009 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1247-48 (9th Cir.2003).
cited Cited "see" American Isuzu Motors, Inc. v. Fladeboe Volkswagen, Inc.
9th Cir. · 2007 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243 , 1248 n. 4 (9th Cir.2003) (“Issues that were not presented to the district court generally cannot be raised for the first time on appeal.”).
cited Cited "see" United States v. Duncan
9th Cir. · 2006 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1247-48 (9th Cir.2003).
discussed Cited "see" United States v. Villa-Lara (2×)
9th Cir. · 2006 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1246 (9th Cir. 2003).
discussed Cited "see" United States v. Hernandez-Hernandez (2×)
9th Cir. · 2005 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1248 (9th Cir.2003) (allowing the dis trict court to rely on the indictment, plea agreement, minutes from the change of plea hearing, and judgment); United States v. Bonat, 106 F.3d 1472, 1476-77 (9th Cir.1997) (allowing the district court to consider the information, sentence of imprisonment, and the plea transcript); United States v. Sweeten, 933 F.2d 765, 768-70 (9th Cir.1991) (allowing the district court to consider the indictment, signed plea agreement, and judgment).
cited Cited "see" United States v. Merlo
9th Cir. · 2005 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1246-47 (9th Cir.2003).
discussed Cited "see" United States v. Cortez-Arias
9th Cir. · 2005 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Hernandez- Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1246 (9th Cir. 2003). 5 This section defines terms, including “crime of violence,” found in the “Career Offenders” provision, § 4B1.1 of the Guidelines.
discussed Cited "see" United States v. Cortez-Arias
9th Cir. · 2005 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Hernandez- Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1246 (9th Cir. 2003). 5 This section defines terms, including “crime of violence,” found in the “Career Offenders” provision, § 4B1.1 of the Guidelines.
discussed Cited "see" United States v. Garcia-Rodriguez
5th Cir. · 2005 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1249 (9th Cir.2003) (“A sentence of probation, with or without the two months’ incarceration, by definition is a sentence of 13 months or less.”) (citing Mullings with approval).
discussed Cited "see" United States v. Cortez-Arias
9th Cir. · 2005 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Hernandez- Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1246 (9th Cir. 2003). 4354 UNITED STATES v. CORTEZ-ARIAS of Cortez-Arias’s challenge because the predicate offense addressed in Weinert, a violation of section 246 of the Cali- fornia Penal Code, is the same as the predicate offense com- mitted by Cortez-Arias.
discussed Cited "see" United States v. Jose Emilio Cortez-Arias
9th Cir. · 2005 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1246 (9th Cir.2003). 5 .This section defines terms, including "crime of violence,” found in the "Career Offenders” provision, § 4B1.1 of the Guidelines.
discussed Cited "see" Connie A. Nagrampa v. Mailcoups Inc. The American Arbitration Association
9th Cir. · 2005 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243 , 1248 n. 4 (9th Cir.2003) ("Issues that were not presented to the district court generally cannot be raised for the first time on appeal.”). 4 .
discussed Cited "see" United States v. Zuniga-Gamez
9th Cir. · 2004 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1249 (9th Cir.2003) (concluding that “[a] sentence of probation, with or without the two months’ incarceration, by definition is a sentence of. 13 months of [sic] less”).
cited Cited "see" United States v. Hernandez-Carrasco
9th Cir. · 2004 · signal: see · confidence high
See United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1248-49 (9th Cir.2003).
discussed Cited "see, e.g." United States v. Huyoa-Jimenez
10th Cir. · 2010 · signal: compare · confidence medium
Compare United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1249 (9th Cir.2003) (citing Mullings in dicta for the proposition that if the twelve-level enhancement applied where a defendant received no sentence of imprisonment, it would apply where the defendant served two months’ imprisonment as a condition of probation) with Alvarez-Hernandez, 478 F.3d at 1065-67 (concluding that when the Commission added the cross-references defining "sentence imposed,” with knowledge that circuit courts had held that a defendant received a "sentence of imprisonment” only if he served time in custody…
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
Justo HERNANDEZ-VALDOVINOS, Defendant-Appellant
02-10671.
Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Dec 17, 2003.
352 F.3d 1243
Christopher R. Kilburn, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Tucson, Arizona, for the defendant-appellant., Anne E. Gannon, Assistant United States Attorney, Tucson, Arizona, for the plaintiff-appellee.
Hug, Fletcher, Tashima.
Cited by 54 opinions  |  Published
1 passages pin-cited by 2 cases
Pinpoint authority: bottom 91%
Citer courts: Ninth Circuit (2)
TASHIMA, Circuit Judge:

Justo Hernandez-Valdovinos (“Hernandez”) appeals the judgment of the district court sentencing him to 30 months’ imprisonment following his guilty plea to reentry after deportation, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a). Hernandez contends that the district court erred in classifying his prior felony offense as an aggravated felony and in applying a 12-level sentencing enhancement when he only received probation for the prior felony. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3742(a) and 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.

BACKGROUND

In June 2002, Hernandez was found in Arizona, arrested, and charged with reentry after deportation, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. He pled guilty, but objected to the pre-sentence report (“PSR”), which recommended a 12-level sentencing enhancement pursuant to United States Sentencing Guidelines Manual (“U.S.S.G.”) § 2L1.2(b)(l)(B) because of a prior drug-trafficking conviction with a sentence of less than 13 months. Hernandez’s prior conviction was in Arizona state court for attempted sale of narcotic drugs. The state court ordered that the sentence be suspended and placed Hernandez on four years’ probation; however, the court also ordered Hernandez to serve two months in jail as a condition of probation.

Hernandez contended that his prior felony was not an aggravated felony for sentencing purposes because the statute of conviction included conduct that does not qualify as an aggravated felony. He further contended that the government had failed to establish by clear and convincing evidence that his prior conviction was for an aggravated felony.

The district court rejected Hernandez’s arguments and adopted the facts as set forth in the PSR and the Addendum to the PSR. Based on an offense level of 17 [1] and a criminal history category of III, the guideline range was 30-37 months. The[*1246] court sentenced Hernandez to 30 months’ imprisonment.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

The district court’s decision that a prior conviction is a qualifying offense for a sentencing enhancement pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2 is reviewed de novo. See United States v. Soberanes, 318 F.3d 959, 961 (9th Cir.2003) (reviewing de novo the question of whether a defendant’s prior conviction qualifies as an aggravated felony for purposes of § 2L1.2). We review the district court’s interpretation of the sentencing guidelines de novo. Id.

DISCUSSION

Section 2L1.2 of the sentencing guidelines is the guideline applicable to a violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. The guideline provides a base offense level of 8, with the possibility of various increases in offense level if the defendant previously was deported after certain qualifying convictions. The provision that was applied in the instant case is a 12-level increase if the defendant previously was deported after “a conviction for a felony drug trafficking offense for which the sentence imposed was 13 months or less.” [2] U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(l)(B).

The Arizona state court plea agreement stated that Hernandez pled guilty to “Attempted Sale of Narcotic Drugs, a Class 3 Felony, in violation of ARS §§ 13-1001, - 3401, -3408, -3418, -701, -702 and -801.” In the judgment, the court ordered that the sentence be suspended and placed Hernandez on probation for four years. The court “further f[ound] that the terms of probation should include incarceration in the Maricopa County Jail as a term and condition of probation,” and therefore ordered that Hernandez be incarcerated for two months.

There are two issues on appeal. The first is whether Hernandez’s prior conviction is a “drug trafficking offense” for purposes of U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2. Within this first issue is the question of whether the government adequately established the fact of the prior conviction. The second issue is whether the enhancement should apply at all because Hernandez received only probation and, therefore, he argues, there was no “sentence imposed” for purposes of the guideline.

I

In determining whether a prior conviction is a qualifying offense for sentencing enhancement purposes, we apply the categorical approach set forth in Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575, 110 S.Ct. 2143, 109 L.Ed.2d 607 (1990). See, e.g., United States v. Pimentel-Flores, 339 F.3d 959, 967-68 (9th Cir.2003) (discussing this court’s application of the Taylor analysis to the imposition of various sentencing enhancements in the guidelines). Under Taylor’s categorical approach, the court is to look only to the fact of conviction and the statutory definition of the prior offense, not the underlying facts. Id. at 967. If the statute criminalizes conduct that would not constitute a qualifying offense, the court may “look a little further” and “consider whether other documentation and judicially noticeable facts demonstrate that the offense was, indeed, within the Guidelines’ definition.” United States v. [*1247] Shumate, 329 F.3d 1026, 1029 (9th Cir.), amended by 341 F.3d 852 (9th Cir.2003). The purpose of this modified categorical approach is “to determine if the record unequivocally establishes that the defendant was convicted of the generically defined crime, even if the statute defining the crime is overly inclusive.” United States v. Corona-Sanchez, 291 F.3d 1201, 1211 (9th Cir.2002) (en banc).

The term “drug trafficking offense” is defined in the guideline commentary as “an offense under federal, state, or local law that prohibits the manufacture, import, export, distribution, or dispensing of a controlled substance (or a counterfeit substance) or the possession of a controlled substance (or a counterfeit substance) with intent to manufacture, import, export, distribute, or dispense.” U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2, cmt. n.l(B)(iii). The Arizona statute under which Hernandez was convicted provides:

A. A person shall not knowingly:
1. Possess or use a narcotic drug.
2. Possess a narcotic drug for sale.
3. Possess equipment or chemicals, or both, for the purpose of manufacturing a narcotic drug.
4. Manufacture a narcotic drug.
5. Administer a narcotic drug to another person.
6. Obtain or procure the administration of a narcotic drug by fraud, deceit, misrepresentation or subterfuge.
7. Transport for sale, import into this state, offer to transport for sale or import into this state, sell, transfer or offer to sell or transfer a narcotic drug.

Aiiz.Rev.Stat. § 13-3408.A. The plea agreement, minute entry, and judgment in state court stated that Hernandez pled guilty to “Attempted sale of narcotic drugs.” Both parties agree that subsection 7 is the relevant portion of the statute.

We need not address Hernandez’s argument that the Arizona statute fails the categorical test because we agree with the government that the district court relied on the modified categorical approach to find that his conviction constituted a drug trafficking offense for purposes of the enhancement. [3] The district court stated that it had examined everything, including the documents relating to Hernandez’s state conviction submitted by Hernandez with his objections to the PSR. The court relied on these documents to find that, “regardless of what else the statute might have encompassed, what he was convicted of was attempted sale of narcotics,” an offense that “without question” was a drug trafficking offense.

Moreover, we disagree with Hernandez that the government failed to establish the fact'of his prior conviction by clear and convincing evidence. “ ‘[D]ue process is generally satisfied by using a preponderance of the evidence standard to prove sentencing factors that are set forth in the[United States Sentencing Guidelines].’ ” United States v. Bonilla-Montenegro, 331 F.3d 1047, 1049-50 (9th Cir.2003) (quoting United States v. Jordan, 256 F.3d 922, 927 (9th Cir.2001)) (alterations in original). The sentencing factor must be proven by clear and convincing evidence when it has “an extremely disproportionate effect” on the sentence. Id.

Hernandez contends that he should have received the eight-level enhancement found in § 2L1.2(b)(l)(C) for a conviction for an aggravated felony, rather than the 12-level enhancement in § 2L1.2(b)(l)(B) for a felony drug trafficking offense. His[*1248] sentencing range would then have been 18-24 months, instead of 30-37 months.

Even if we were to agree with Hernandez that the increase in his sentencing range is so disproportionate as to warrant applying the clear and convincing standard rather than the preponderance of the evidence standard, we conclude that the higher standard is satisfied in this case. The district court examined the state court indictment, plea agreement, minutes from the change of plea, and judgment, as well as the PSR prepared for the district court. Thus, contrary to Hernandez’s contention, the district court did not rely solely on the PSR and the name of the offense in applying the enhancement.

The PSR specified the statute of conviction. See id. at 1050 (stating that “the government may satisfy its burden by producing a presentence report specifying the statute under which a defendant was previously convicted”). Moreover, documents such as “the charging documents in conjunction with the plea agreement, the transcript of a plea proceeding, or the judgment” may be relied upon to determine whether the defendant was convicted of a qualifying offense. Corona-Sqnchez, 291 F.3d at 1211. As stated above, the indictment, plea agreement, minutes from the change of plea, and judgment were before the district court when it made its decision, and all of these documents indicated that Hernandez pled guilty to attempted sale of narcotics. The district court therefore did not err in concluding that the government had established that Hernandez’s prior conviction was a drug trafficking offense for purposes of U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2.

II

The commentary to U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2 states that “[i]f all or any part of a sentence of imprisonment was probated, suspended, deferred, or stayed, ‘sentence imposed’ refers only to the portion that was not probated, suspended, deferred, or stayed.” U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2, cmt. n.l(A)(iv). Hernandez argues that his two months’ incarceration was a condition of probation, not a sentence, and that because he received only probation, there was no “sentence imposed” for purposes of § 2L1.2(b)(l)(B). [4]

In United States v. Mendoza-Morales, 347 F.3d 772 (9th Cir.2003), we considered whether a defendant’s sentence of jail as a condition of probation constituted a “sentence of imprisonment” for purposes of U.S.S.G. § 4A1.1, which “governs the computation of a defendant’s criminal history.” Id. at 774. Relying on the need for national uniformity in interpreting the sentencing guidelines, we declined to follow California’s characterization of a jail term imposed as a condition of probation as rehabilitative rather than punitive, stating that state law does not apply “when classifying a prior state offense for purposes of determining a defendant’s criminal history,” unless there is no comparable federal law. Id. at 774-75. We therefore concluded that “any ‘sentence of incarceration’ im[*1249] posed after an adjudication of guilt counts as a ‘sentence of imprisonment,’ Guidelines § 4A1.2(b)(l), and incarceration as a condition of probation is treated in the same way as ordinary incarceration.” Id. at 775 (citing U.S.S.G. § 4A1.2, cmt. n.2).

Under the reasoning of Mendoza-Morales, we conclude that Hernandez’s two months’ incarceration as a condition of probation constitutes a “sentence imposed,” for purposes of § 2L1.2(b). First, “a federal sentencing enhancement provision ... is interpreted according to a uniform, national definition, not dependent upon the vagaries of state law.” United States v. Martinez, 232 F.3d 728, 732 (9th Cir.2000). We recognize that § 4A1.1, the guideline at issue in Mendoza-Morales, uses the phrase “sentence of imprisonment” rather than “sentence imposed.” Nonetheless, because of the need for uniformity in applying the sentencing guidelines, the principle that “incarceration as a condition of probation is treated in the same way as ordinary incarceration,” Mendoza-Morales, 347 F.3d 772, 775, should apply in the context of § 2L1.2, as well as under § 4A1.1.

Moreover, the guideline provides for the 12-level increase if the sentence imposed was 13 months or less. A sentence of probation, with or without the two months’ incarceration, by definition is a sentence of 13 months of less. See United States v. Mullings, 330 F.3d 123, 125 (2d Cir.2003) (holding that a non-custodial sentence of a fine only was a sentence of “13 months or less,” under § 2L1.2(b)(l)(B)). Hernandez received a sentence of either two months or zero months; either way, his sentence was 13 months or less.

Hernandez points out that the Sentencing Commission has recognized that the issue is unclear and points us to proposed amendments to the sentencing guidelines. The proposed amendments, however, do not clarify how Hernandez’s offense should be treated. See Sentencing Guidelines for United States Courts, 67 Fed.Reg. 77532, 77539( Dec. 18, 2002) (U.S. Sentencing Comm’n proposal, proposing two options, neither of which addresses how to characterize incarceration imposed as a condition of probation). More importantly, we have been loath to rely on proposed amendments to the guidelines in interpreting a current version of the guidelines. “ ‘[E]ven when it would otherwise be useful, subsequent legislative history will rarely override a reasonable interpretation of a statute that can be gleaned from its language and legislative history prior to its enactment.’ ” Soberanes, 318 F.3d at 964-65(quoting Consumer Prod. Safety Comm’n v. GTE Sylvania, Inc., 447 U.S. 102, 118 n. 3, 100 S.Ct. 2051, 64 L.Ed.2d 766 (1980)).

CONCLUSION

The district court applied the modified categorical approach and properly found that the government had established that Hernandez’s prior conviction was a drug trafficking offense for purposes of U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2. Hernandez’s suspended sentence, which imposed incarceration as a condition of probation, constituted a “sentence imposed” of less than 13 months for purposes of the guidelines. The judgment and sentence of the district court accordingly is

AFFIRMED.

1

. The base offense level was 8. Hernandez received a 12-level enhancement for the drug trafficking offense and a 3-level decrease for acceptance of responsibility, resulting in a total offense level of 17.

2

. Besides the 12-level increase applied in the instant case, a defendant can receive a 16-level increase for a felony conviction that is, inter alia, "a drug trafficking offense for which the sentence imposed exceeded 13 months," an eight-level increase for an aggravated felony conviction, a four-level increase for any other felony or -for "three or more convictions for misdemeanors that are crimes of violence or drug trafficking offenses.” U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2.

3

. Hernandez's reliance on United States v. Rivera-Sanchez, 247 F.3d 905 (9th Cir.2001) (en banc), is unavailing because the district court in Rivera-Sanchez relied only on the categorical approach and did not conduct any analysis under the modified categorical approach.

4

. The government contends that Hernandez has waived this argument because he failed to raise it below. Issues that were not presented to the district court generally cannot be raised for the first time on appeal. Pimentel-Flores, 339 F.3d at 967. Nonetheless, we may, as a matter of discretion, consider an issue first raised on appeal when the issue presented is purely one of law and the opposing party will suffer no prejudice as a result of the failure to raise the issue below. United States v. Echavarria-Escobar, 270 F.3d 1265, 1268 (9th Cir.2001), ce rt. denied, 535 U.S. 1069, 122 S.Ct. 1943, 152 L.Ed.2d 847 (2002). Here, we choose, as a matter of discretion, to address the purely legal question of whether jail as a condition of probation constitutes a sentence imposed for purposes of the sentencing guidelines.