Case Name: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee v. Leticia CALVILLO, Defendant-Appellant
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2005-07-21
Citations: 145 F. App'x 453
Docket Number: No. 04-41710
Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee v. Leticia CALVILLO, Defendant-Appellant.
Judges: Before KING, Chief Judge, and DAVIS and STEWART, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 145
Pages: 453–455

Head Matter:
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee v. Leticia CALVILLO, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 04-41710.
Summary Calendar.
United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.
Decided July 21, 2005.
James Lee Turner, Kathlyn Giannaula Snyder, Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of Texas, Houston, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
L. Aron Pena, Law Offices of L. Aron Pena, Edinburg, TX, for Defendant-Appellant.
Before KING, Chief Judge, and DAVIS and STEWART, Circuit Judges.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM:
Leticia Calvillo appeals her guilty-plea conviction and sentence for transporting illegal aliens in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a). Calvillo argues that trial counsel was ineffective because he advised her to sign a plea agreement that waived any right she had to have facts used in calculating her sentence charged in the indictment and proven to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. She argues that, given the legal landscape at the time of her plea, counsel should not have let her agree to this waiver in the plea agreement and that he should have objected at the sentencing hearing to the mandatory aspect of the sentencing guidelines and to the enhancements under the guidelines that were used to calculate her sentence. Finally, she argues that her sentence violated United States v. Booker, — U.S. -, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005), because it was enhanced based upon facts not proven to a jury or proved beyond a reasonable doubt.
The general rule in this circuit is that claims of ineffective assistance will not be considered on direct appeal "when, as here, it was not raised in the district court, because there has been no opportunity to develop record evidence on the merits of the claim." United States v. Lampazianie, 251 F.3d 519, 527 (5th Cir.2001); see also Massaro v. United States, 538 U.S. 500, 504-05, 123 S.Ct. 1690, 155 L.Ed.2d 714 (2003). We conclude that a motion brought under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 would be preferable to direct appeal for deciding Calvillo's claim of ineffective assistance. See Massaro, 538 U.S. at 504-05, 123 S.Ct. 1690.
Calvillo argues that the exception to her appeal waiver for upward departures applies to her Booker argument because the district court's finding that she transported 10 aliens increased her guidelines range, thereby constituting a departure. We have previously rejected a similar argument. See United States v. McKinney, 406 F.3d 744, 746-747 (5th Cir.2005).
APPEAL DISMISSED.
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.