Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-05-04488/USCOURTS-ca8-05-04488-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Alfredo Flores
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

1

The Honorable Carol E. Jackson, Chief Judge, United States District Court for

the Eastern District of Missouri.

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 05-4488

___________

United States of America, *

*

Appellee, *

* Appeal from the United States

v. * District Court for the

* Eastern District of Missouri.

Alfredo Flores, also known as Freddie, *

* [UNPUBLISHED]

Appellant. *

___________

Submitted: March 7, 2007

Filed: March 12, 2007

___________

Before WOLLMAN, MURPHY, and BYE, Circuit Judges.

___________

PER CURIAM.

Alfredo Flores appeals the 150-month prison sentence the district court1

imposed upon his guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to

distribute marijuana and cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), and 846. For

reversal, Flores argues that Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296 (2004), effectively

overruled Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224 (1998), and that the

district court therefore violated his Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights in finding that

his prior controlled-substance convictions qualified him for sentencing as a career

Appellate Case: 05-4488 Page: 1 Date Filed: 03/12/2007 Entry ID: 3287073
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offender under U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1. Flores’s argument fails as we are still bound by

Almendarez-Torres. See United States v. Torres-Alvarado, 416 F.3d 808, 810 (8th

Cir. 2005) (“we are bound by Almendarez-Torres until the Supreme Court explicitly

overrules it”); see also United States v. Marcussen, 403 F.3d 982, 984 (8th Cir.)

(holding that district court, not jury, determines whether prior convictions subject

defendant to be sentenced as career offender), cert. denied, 126 S. Ct. 457 (2005).

Accordingly, we affirm.

______________________________

Appellate Case: 05-4488 Page: 2 Date Filed: 03/12/2007 Entry ID: 3287073