Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca5-03-40835/USCOURTS-ca5-03-40835-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Francisco Jose Torres-Vasquez
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

FILED

February 18, 2004

Charles R. Fulbruge III

Clerk

No. 03-40835

-1-

* Pursuant to 5th Cir. R. 47.5, the court has determined 

that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent 

except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Cir. 

R. 47.5.4.

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

 

No. 03-40835

Conference Calendar

 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff-Appellee,

versus

FRANCISCO JOSE TORRES-VASQUEZ,

Defendant-Appellant.

--------------------

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Southern District of Texas

USDC No. B-03-CR-36-1

--------------------

Before HIGGINBOTHAM, EMILIO M. GARZA, and PRADO, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:*

Francisco Jose Torres-Vasquez appeals his guilty-plea 

conviction for possession with intent to distribute more than 50 

kilograms of marijuana. He argues that 21 U.S.C. ' 841 is 

unconstitutional in view of Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 

(2000). He acknowledges that this argument is foreclosed by 

United States v. Slaughter, 238 F.3d 580, 582 (5th Cir. 2000), 

but states that he is raising it to preserve it for possible 

 Case: 03-40835 Document: 0051560443 Page: 1 Date Filed: 02/18/2004
No. 03-40835

-2-

Supreme Court review. The argument that Apprendi rendered 21 

U.S.C. ' 841 facially unconstitutional was rejected in Slaughter. 

We are bound by this precedent absent an intervening Supreme 

Court decision or a subsequent en banc decision. See United 

States v. Short, 181 F.3d 620, 624 (5th Cir. 1999). Therefore, 

this issue is foreclosed.

Torres-Vasquez argues that the supervised release condition 

which prohibits him from possessing dangerous weapons conflicts 

with the district court=s oral pronouncement of the sentence and 

must be deleted. The Sentencing Guidelines recommend that all 

defendants who have been convicted of a felony be prohibited from 

possessing any dangerous weapon during the term of supervised 

release. U.S.S.G. ' 5D1.3(d)(1). "If the district court orally 

imposes a sentence without stating the conditions applicable to 

this period of supervision, the judgment=s inclusion of 

conditions that are mandatory, standard, or recommended by the 

Sentencing Guidelines does not create a conflict with the oral 

pronouncement." United States v. Torres-Aguilar, 352 F.3d 934, 

938 (5th Cir. 2003).

AFFIRMED.

 Case: 03-40835 Document: 0051560443 Page: 2 Date Filed: 02/18/2004