Court Opinion

ID: 9407974
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-07-11 00:00:32.516278+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:20:41.044469
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-40019         Document: 00516815411             Page: 1      Date Filed: 07/10/2023

              United States Court of Appeals
                   for the Fifth Circuit
                                      ____________
                                                                       United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                Fifth Circuit
                                       No. 23-40019
                                     Summary Calendar
                                                                              FILED
                                                                          July 10, 2023
                                     ____________
                                                                         Lyle W. Cayce
   United States of America,                                                  Clerk

                                                                       Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                             versus

   Ricardo Garcia, Jr.,

                                               Defendant—Appellant.
                      ______________________________

                      Appeal from the United States District Court
                          for the Southern District of Texas
                              USDC No. 7:22-CR-1002-1
                      ______________________________

   Before Wiener, Elrod, and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam:*
          Ricardo Garcia, Jr. was sentenced to 120 months in prison after
   pleading guilty to importing 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. On
   appeal, he argues that the district court erred by finding him ineligible for a
   lower sentence under the safety-valve provision of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f).
   Pointing to the provision’s use of the word “and,” Garcia contends that

          _____________________
          *
              This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-40019      Document: 00516815411           Page: 2     Date Filed: 07/10/2023

                                     No. 23-40019

   § 3553(f)(1) renders a defendant ineligible for safety-valve relief only if all
   three of its conditions are met. He thus contends that it does not apply here
   because his criminal history lacks a two-point violent offense under §
   3553(f)(1)(C).
          The Government has filed an unopposed motion for summary
   affirmance or, in the alternative, for an extension of time to file its brief. The
   motion asserts that Garcia’s argument is foreclosed by United States v.
   Palomares, 52 F.4th 640 (5th Cir. 2022), petition for cert. filed (U.S. Dec. 21,
   2022) (No. 22-6391). There, the panel majority concluded that § 3553(f)(1)
   renders criminal defendants ineligible for safety-valve relief “if they run afoul
   of any one of its requirements.” Palomares, 52 F.4th at 647.
          Garcia correctly concedes that his argument is foreclosed by Palomares
   absent an intervening change in the law. See United States v. James, 950 F.3d
   289, 292 (5th Cir. 2020). Summary disposition is appropriate in these
   circumstances. See Groendyke Transp., Inc. v. Davis, 406 F.2d 1158, 1162 (5th
   Cir. 1969). Accordingly, the Government’s motion for summary affirmance
   is GRANTED, and the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED. The
   Government’s alternative motion for an extension of time is DENIED as
   MOOT.

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