Court Opinion

ID: 9905335
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-11-29 01:00:49.208591+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:23:01.905402
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-10531     Document: 00516982109         Page: 1     Date Filed: 11/28/2023

              United States Court of Appeals
                   for the Fifth Circuit
                                ____________
                                                                     United States Court of Appeals
                                                                              Fifth Circuit
                                  No. 23-10531
                                Summary Calendar                            FILED
                                ____________                        November 28, 2023
                                                                       Lyle W. Cayce
   United States of America,                                                Clerk

                                                             Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                       versus

   Hector Daniel Chacon-Gonzalez,

                                           Defendant—Appellant.
                  ______________________________

                  Appeal from the United States District Court
                      for the Northern District of Texas
                            USDC No. 4:23-CR-14-1
                  ______________________________

   Before Jones, Southwick, and Ho, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
          Hector Daniel Chacon-Gonzalez appeals the sentence imposed
   following his guilty plea conviction for illegal reentry after deportation in
   violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. Renewing an argument made before the district
   court, Chacon-Gonzales challenges the application of the enhanced penalty

          _____________________
          *
            Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 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   opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited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 Circuit Rule 47.5.4.
Case: 23-10531      Document: 00516982109           Page: 2    Date Filed: 11/28/2023

                                     No. 23-10531

   range in § 1326(b) as unconstitutional because it permits a defendant to be
   sentenced above the statutory maximum of § 1326(a) based on the fact of a
   prior conviction that was not alleged in the indictment or found by a jury
   beyond a reasonable doubt. As he correctly concedes, this issue is foreclosed
   by Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224 (1998). See United States
   v. Pervis, 937 F.3d 546, 553-54 (5th Cir. 2019). He raises the issue to preserve
   it for Supreme Court review. The Government has filed an unopposed
   motion for summary affirmance agreeing that the issue is foreclosed and, in
   the alternative, requesting an extension of time to file a brief.
          Because summary affirmance is appropriate, see Groendyke Transp.,
   Inc. v. Davis, 406 F.2d 1158, 1162 (5th Cir. 1969), the Government’s motion
   is GRANTED, and the district court’s judgment is AFFIRMED. The
   Government’s alternative motion for an extension of time to file a brief is
   DENIED AS MOOT.

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