Court Opinion

ID: 9386222
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-04-11 18:00:29.10789+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:18:04.716062
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-50981         Document: 00516707477             Page: 1      Date Filed: 04/11/2023

              United States Court of Appeals
                   for the Fifth Circuit
                                     _____________
                                                                                United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                         Fifth Circuit
                                      No. 22-50981
                                  consolidated with                                    FILED
                                      No. 22-51000                                 April 11, 2023
                                    Summary Calendar                              Lyle W. Cayce
                                    _____________                                      Clerk

   United States of America,

                                                                       Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                             versus

   Gabriel Gonzalez Perez,

                                               Defendant—Appellant.
                      ______________________________

                     Appeals from the United States District Court
                          for the Western District of Texas
                      USDC Nos. 4:22-CR-516-1, 4:22-CR-612-1
                     ______________________________

   Before Wiener, Elrod, and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
          Gabriel Gonzalez Perez appeals his conviction and sentence for illegal
   reentry into the United States under 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) and (b)(2), as well as
   the judgment revoking his term of supervised release for a prior offense. The

          _____________________
          *
              This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 22-50981     Document: 00516707477         Page: 2       Date Filed: 04/11/2023

                                      22-50981
                                  c/w No. 22-51000

   latter challenge is unbriefed and thus abandoned. See United States v. Reagan,
   596 F.3d 251, 254-55 (5th Cir. 2010) (citations omitted).
          On appeal, Perez contends that the recidivism enhancement in
   § 1326(b) is unconstitutional because it permits a sentence above the
   otherwise applicable statutory maximum established by § 1326(a) based on
   facts that are neither alleged in the indictment nor found by a jury beyond a
   reasonable doubt. Although Perez acknowledges that this argument is
   foreclosed by Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224 (1998), he
   nevertheless seeks to preserve it for possible Supreme Court review and has
   filed an unopposed motion for summary affirmance.
          Because Perez is correct that his argument is foreclosed, see United
   States v. Pervis, 937 F.3d 546, 553-54 (5th Cir. 2019), summary disposition is
   appropriate. See Groendyke Transp., Inc. v. Davis, 406 F.2d 1158, 1162 (5th
   Cir. 1969). Accordingly, Perez’s motion is GRANTED, and the district
   court’s judgments are AFFIRMED.

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