Court Opinion

ID: 9881508
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-10-03 00:00:34.210221+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:48:17.442475
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-40074        Document: 00516916519             Page: 1      Date Filed: 10/02/2023

             United States Court of Appeals
                  for the Fifth Circuit
                                                                               United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                        Fifth Circuit

                                            FILED
                                     ____________
                                                                                October 2, 2023
                                      No. 23-40074                               Lyle W. Cayce
                                    Summary Calendar                                  Clerk
                                    ____________

   United States of America,

                                                                      Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                            versus

   Mario Alberto Netro-Perales,

                                              Defendant—Appellant.
                     ______________________________

                     Appeal from the United States District Court
                         for the Southern District of Texas
                              USDC No. 1:22-CR-867-1
                     ______________________________

   Before King, Haynes, and Graves, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
         Mario Alberto Netro-Perales appeals his sentence for his guilty plea
   conviction for being an alien who was unlawfully present in the United States
   after deportation. After denying Netro-Perales’s motion for a downward
   departure, the district court imposed a within-guidelines term of 21 months
   of imprisonment and three years of supervised release.

         _____________________
         *
             This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-40074     Document: 00516916519           Page: 2    Date Filed: 10/02/2023

                                    No. 23-40074

          In his first argument, Netro-Perales contends that the district court
   erred by deferring to the Guidelines commentary when denying his motion
   for a downward departure. We may review a downward-departure denial
   only if “the district court held a mistaken belief that the Guidelines do not
   give it the authority to depart.” United States v. Sam, 467 F.3d 857, 861 (5th
   Cir. 2006). To the extent that Netro-Perales relies on Kisor v. Wilkie, 139 S.
   Ct. 2400 (2019), in support of his assertion that the Guidelines commentary
   is not due any deference, that assertion is repudiated by our recent decision
   in United States v. Vargas, 74 F.4th 673, 680-83 (5th Cir. 2023) (en banc).
   Although the record does not indicate that the district court relied on the
   Guidelines commentary to deny the downward departure motion, Netro-
   Perales has not shown any error in that regard even if the district court did
   rely on that commentary.
          Netro-Perales also contends that the district court erred by counting
   his prior illegal reentry convictions for purposes of a sentencing enhancement
   and to determine his criminal history category. Our review is for plain error.
   See Puckett v. United States, 556 U.S. 129, 135 (2009). As noted by the
   Government, Netro-Perales’s argument is identical to the one rejected by
   this court in United States v. Cordova-Lopez, 34 F.4th 442, 444-46 (5th Cir.
   2022). Netro-Perales has failed to show any plain error.
          The district court’s judgment is AFFIRMED.

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