Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca5-03-40293/USCOURTS-ca5-03-40293-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Marvin Steven Flores-Benitez
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

* 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that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent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.

United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

F I L E D

February 18, 2004

Charles R. Fulbruge III

Clerk

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

 

No. 03-40293

Conference Calendar

 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff-Appellee,

versus

MARVIN STEVEN FLORES-BENITEZ,

Defendant-Appellant.

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

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Southern District of Texas

USDC No. L-02-CR-1134-ALL

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

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

PER CURIAM:*

Marvin Steven Flores-Benitez appeals the sentence he

received following his guilty-plea conviction for illegally

reentering the United States after deportation subsequent to an

aggravated felony conviction, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. 

He argues, for the first time on appeal, that the sentencing 

provisions of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(b)(1) and (b)(2) are

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

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

 Case: 03-40293 Document: 0051481877 Page: 1 Date Filed: 02/18/2004
No. 03-40293

-2-

Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224 (1998), but he

seeks to preserve the issue for Supreme Court review. 

Apprendi did not overrule Almendarez-Torres. See Apprendi,

530 U.S. at 489-90; United States v. Dabeit, 231 F.3d 979, 984

(5th Cir. 2000). This court must follow the precedent set in

Almendarez-Torres "unless and until the Supreme Court itself

determines to overrule it." Dabeit, 231 F.3d at 984 (internal

quotation and citation omitted).

AFFIRMED.

 Case: 03-40293 Document: 0051481877 Page: 2 Date Filed: 02/18/2004