Court Opinion

ID: 9398363
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-05-31 00:00:34.88407+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:19:33.211175
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-50965         Document: 00516767875             Page: 1      Date Filed: 05/30/2023

              United States Court of Appeals
                   for the Fifth Circuit
                                      ____________
                                                                                United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                         Fifth Circuit
                                       No. 22-50965
                                     Summary Calendar                                   FILED
                                     ____________                                     May 30, 2023
                                                                                  Lyle W. Cayce
   United States of America,                                                           Clerk

                                                                       Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                             versus

   Javier Sanchez-Ventura,

                                               Defendant—Appellant.
                      ______________________________

                      Appeal from the United States District Court
                           for the Western District of Texas
                               USDC No. 4:22-CR-476-1
                      ______________________________

   Before Higginbotham, Graves, and Ho, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
          Javier Sanchez-Ventura appeals his sentence on his guilty plea
   conviction for illegal reentry into the United States in violation of 8 U.S.C.
   § 1326. Renewing an argument made before the district court, he challenges
   the district court’s application of the enhanced penalty range in § 1326(b) as
   unconstitutional because it permits a defendant to be sentenced above the

          _____________________
          *
              This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 22-50965      Document: 00516767875          Page: 2    Date Filed: 05/30/2023

                                    No. 22-50965

   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. He raises the issue to preserve it for further review and has filed an
   unopposed motion for summary disposition, correctly conceding that it 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).
          Because summary disposition is appropriate, see Groendyke Transp.,
   Inc. v. Davis, 406 F.2d 1158, 1162 (5th Cir. 1969), Sanchez-Ventura’s motion
   is GRANTED, and the district court’s judgment is AFFIRMED.

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