Court Opinion

ID: 9894390
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-11-01 18:00:33.913286+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:08:40.343240
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-50335         Document: 00516952265             Page: 1      Date Filed: 11/01/2023

              United States Court of Appeals
                   for the Fifth Circuit
                                     _____________
                                                                                United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                         Fifth Circuit
                                      No. 23-50335
                                  consolidated with                                    FILED
                                      No. 23-50347                              November 1, 2023
                                    Summary Calendar                              Lyle W. Cayce
                                    _____________                                      Clerk

   United States of America,

                                                                       Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                             versus

   Elias Marcelino Baten-Sarat,

                                               Defendant—Appellant.
                      ______________________________

                     Appeals from the United States District Court
                          for the Western District of Texas
                      USDC Nos. 4:22-CR-805-1, 4:22-CR-801-1
                     ______________________________

   Before Smith, Higginson, and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
          Elias Marcelino Baten-Sarat appeals his conviction and sentence
   under 8 U.S.C. § 1326 for illegal entry into the United States after removal.
   He also appeals the revocation of a previously imposed term of supervised
   release.      He argues for the first time on appeal that § 1326(b) is

          _____________________
          *
              This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-50335      Document: 00516952265         Page: 2    Date Filed: 11/01/2023

                                      23-50335
                                  c/w No. 23-50347

   unconstitutional. Baten-Sarat has filed an unopposed motion for summary
   disposition acknowledging that his argument is foreclosed by Almendarez-
   Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224 (1998), and explaining that he seeks to
   preserve it for possible Supreme Court review.
          This court has held that subsequent Supreme Court decisions such as
   Alleyne v. United States, 570 U.S. 99 (2013), and Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530
   U.S. 466 (2000), did not overrule Almendarez-Torres. See United States v.
   Pervis, 937 F.3d 546, 553-54 (5th Cir. 2019). Thus, Baten-Sarat is correct that
   his argument is foreclosed, and summary disposition is appropriate. See
   Groendyke Transp., Inc. v. Davis, 406 F.2d 1158, 1162 (5th Cir. 1969).
          Baten-Sarat’s motion is GRANTED, and the district court’s
   judgments are AFFIRMED.

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