United States v. Perez-Paz

MEMORANDUM** Juan Perez-Paz appeals the judgment of conviction and 70-month sentence, imposed pursuant to his guilty plea for being a previously deported alien found in the United States, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. Pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1896,18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967), Perez-Paz’s counsel has filed a brief stating there are no grounds for relief, along with a motion to withdraw as counsel of record. Perez-Paz has filed a pro se opening brief. Our independent review of the record pursuant to Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 80-81, 109 S.Ct. 346, 102 L.Ed.2d 300 (1988), discloses no grounds for relief on direct appeal. Accordingly, counsel’s motion to withdraw is GRANTED, Perez-Paz’s request for new counsel is DENIED, and the district court’s judgment is AFFIRMED.1 Footnotes [**] This disposition is not appropriate for publication and may not be cited to or by the courts of this circuit except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. [1] We decline to address Perez-Paz’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim on direct appeal. See United States v. Hanoum, 33 F.3d 1128, 1131-32 (9th Cir. 1994) (observing that ineffective assistance claim is more properly raised by collateral attack under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, because it cannot be advanced without development of facts outside record).