Case Name: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Andres Gilberto GARZA-LOPEZ, Defendant-Appellant
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2005-04-20
Citations: 125 F. App'x 601
Docket Number: No. 04-41122
Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Andres Gilberto GARZA-LOPEZ, Defendant-Appellant.
Judges: Before JONES, SMITH, and PRADO, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 125
Pages: 601–602

Head Matter:
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Andres Gilberto GARZA-LOPEZ, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 04-41122.
Conference Calendar.
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.
Decided April 20, 2005.
James Lee Turner, Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Houston, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Marjorie A. Meyers, Federal Public Defender, Margaret Christina Ling, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Federal Public Defender’s Office, Houston, TX, for Defendant-Appellant.
Before JONES, SMITH, and PRADO, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM:
Andres Gilberto Garza-Lopez (Garza) appeals his guilty plea conviction and sentence for unlawfully attempting to enter the United States following deportation and removal and after having been convicted of an aggravated felony, without having obtained the consent of the Attorney General or the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. Garza received a 16-level sentence enhancement due to his pri- or conviction for attempt to commit murder. See U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(l)(A)(ii). He was sentenced to 46 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release. Garza argues, for the first time on appeal, that Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224, 235, 118 S.Ct. 1219, 140 L.Ed.2d 350 (1998), should be overruled, and that Blakely v. Washington, — U.S.-, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004), should be held to apply to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
Because Garza raises these issues for the first time on appeal, we review only for plain error. See United States v. Mares, 402 F.3d 511, 515 (5th Cir.2005), petition for cert. filed, No. 04-9517 (U.S. Mar. 31, 2005). Although the decision in Almendarez-Torres has been called into question, see Shepard v. United States, — U.S. -, -, 125 S.Ct. 1254, 1264, 161 L.Ed.2d 205 (2005) (Thomas, J., concurring), the Supreme Court has not overruled it. Accordingly, Garza's argument is foreclosed. See United States v. Rivera, 265 F.3d 310, 312 (5th Cir.2001).
Garza contends that if Almendarez-Torres is overruled and Blakely is held to apply to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, he may not be sentenced based on any prior convictions to which he does not admit or that are not found by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. Thus, Garza challenges only the fact of his prior convictions. In United States v. Booker, — U.S. -, -, 125 S.Ct. 738, 764, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005), the Supreme Court did apply Blakely to the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. However, because Almendarez-Torres has not been overruled, Garza received zero criminal history points due to the age of his prior convictions, and Garza is not challenging the characterization of his prior conviction for attempt to commit murder as a violent felony, he has not established error, plain or otherwise, with respect to his conviction and sentence.
AFFIRMED.
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.