Court Opinion

ID: 9393226
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-05-09 18:00:24.103917+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:18:51.662220
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-50887        Document: 00516743647             Page: 1      Date Filed: 05/09/2023

             United States Court of Appeals
                  for the Fifth Circuit
                                     ____________
                                                                               United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                        Fifth Circuit
                                      No. 22-50887
                                    Summary Calendar                                  FILED
                                    ____________                                     May 9, 2023
                                                                                 Lyle W. Cayce
   United States of America,                                                          Clerk

                                                                      Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                            versus

   Andres Zapata-Reyes,

                                              Defendant—Appellant.
                     ______________________________

                     Appeal from the United States District Court
                          for the Western District of Texas
                              USDC No. 4:22-CR-289-1
                     ______________________________

   Before Stewart, Duncan, and Wilson, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
         Andres Zapata-Reyes appeals the sentence imposed after his guilty
   plea conviction for illegal reentry subsequent to removal, pursuant to
   8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) and (b)(2). Zapata-Reyes contends, for the first time on
   appeal, that it violates the Constitution to treat a prior conviction that
   increases the statutory maximum under § 1326(b) as a sentencing factor,

         _____________________
         *
             This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 22-50887      Document: 00516743647          Page: 2    Date Filed: 05/09/2023

                                    No. 22-50887

   rather than as an element of the offense. Zapata-Reyes concedes that this
   issue is foreclosed by Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224
   (1998), but he seeks to preserve the issue for future review. In addition, he
   has filed an unopposed motion for summary disposition.
          The sole issue raised on appeal is foreclosed by Almendarez-Torres.
   See United States v. Pervis, 937 F.3d 546, 553–54 (5th Cir. 2019); United States
   v. Wallace, 759 F.3d 486, 497 (5th Cir. 2014). Because Zapata-Reyes’
   contention is clearly incorrect “as a matter of law [and] there can be no
   substantial question as to the outcome of the case,” summary disposition is
   proper. Groendyke Transp., Inc. v. Davis, 406 F.2d 1158, 1162 (5th Cir. 1969).
   Accordingly, Zapata-Reyes’s motion is GRANTED, and the judgment of
   the district court is AFFIRMED.

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