Court Opinion

ID: 9412624
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-01 01:00:33.213287+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T16:41:17.068211
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-50188         Document: 00516840546             Page: 1      Date Filed: 07/31/2023

              United States Court of Appeals
                   for the Fifth Circuit
                                      ____________
                                                                                United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                         Fifth Circuit
                                       No. 23-50188
                                     Summary Calendar                                   FILED
                                     ____________                                     July 31, 2023
                                                                                  Lyle W. Cayce
   United States of America,                                                           Clerk

                                                                       Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                             versus

   Juan Luis Cervantes-Merlos,

                                               Defendant—Appellant.
                      ______________________________

                      Appeal from the United States District Court
                           for the Western District of Texas
                               USDC No. 2:21-CR-2177-1
                      ______________________________

   Before Elrod, Oldham, and Wilson, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
          Juan Luis Cervantes-Merlos appeals his conviction and sentence for
   illegal re-entry into the United States under 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) and (b)(2).
   For the first time on appeal, he argues 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
          _____________________
          *
              This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-50188     Document: 00516840546          Page: 2   Date Filed: 07/31/2023

                                   No. 23-50188

   reasonable doubt. His two-year term of imprisonment does not exceed the
   maximum in § 1326(a), but his three-year term of supervised release is only
   authorized by § 1326(b), by virtue of 18 U.S.C. §§ 3559(a)(3) and 3583(b)(2).
   Cf. §§ 3559(a)(5), 3583(b)(3) (setting a one-year maximum for an offense
   punishable under § 1326(a)).
          While Cervantes-Merlos acknowledges 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.         In addition,
   Cervantes-Merlos has filed an unopposed motion for summary disposition.
          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, Cervantes-Merlos 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).
          Cervantes-Merlos’s motion is GRANTED, and the district court’s
   judgment is AFFIRMED.

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