Court Opinion

ID: 9363990
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-01-18 01:00:53.964162+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:15:35.356161
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-10423        Document: 00516612942             Page: 1      Date Filed: 01/17/2023

             United States Court of Appeals
                  for the Fifth Circuit
                                     ____________
                                                                              United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                       Fifth Circuit
                                      No. 22-10423
                                    Summary Calendar                                 FILED
                                    ____________                               January 17, 2023
                                                                                Lyle W. Cayce
   United States of America,                                                         Clerk

                                                                     Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                            versus

   Hugo Perez-Mendoza,

                                              Defendant—Appellant.
                     ______________________________

                     Appeal from the United States District Court
                         for the Northern District of Texas
                              USDC No. 4:21-CR-312-1
                     ______________________________

   Before Davis, Smith, and Douglas, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
         Hugo Perez-Mendoza appeals his sentence for his guilty plea
   conviction of illegal reentry after removal in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326.
   Renewing an argument made before the district court, Perez-Mendoza
   challenges the application of the enhanced penalty 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
         _____________________
         *
             This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 22-10423      Document: 00516612942           Page: 2    Date Filed: 01/17/2023

                                     No. 22-10423

   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.

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