Court Opinion

ID: 9905739
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-11-30 01:02:38.011434+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:23:52.329106
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-50477        Document: 00516983105             Page: 1      Date Filed: 11/29/2023

             United States Court of Appeals
                  for the Fifth Circuit
                                     ____________
                                                                               United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                        Fifth Circuit
                                      No. 23-50477
                                    Summary Calendar                                  FILED
                                    ____________                              November 29, 2023
                                                                                 Lyle W. Cayce
   United States of America,                                                          Clerk

                                                                      Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                            versus

   Isidoro Ibarra-Arzate,

                                              Defendant—Appellant.
                     ______________________________

                     Appeal from the United States District Court
                          for the Western District of Texas
                               USDC No. 1:21-CR-40-1
                     ______________________________

   Before Elrod, Oldham, and Wilson, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
         Isidoro Ibarra-Arzate appeals the concurrent 70-month terms of
   imprisonment imposed following his guilty-plea convictions for conspiracy
   to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or
   substance containing methamphetamine and for possession with intent to
   distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing

         _____________________
         *
             This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-50477      Document: 00516983105            Page: 2    Date Filed: 11/29/2023

                                      No. 23-50477

   methamphetamine. He argues that the district court erred by finding that he
   was not eligible for relief under the “safety valve” provisions of 18 U.S.C.
   § 3553(f). Specifically, he argues that the word “and” in § 3553(f)(1) should
   be interpreted to mean that a defendant is ineligible for safety-valve relief
   only if all three disqualifying conditions apply. In his case, he asserts that he
   only has one of the three disqualifying conditions.
           Ibarra-Arzate concedes that his argument currently is foreclosed by
   our decision in United States v. Palomares, 52 F. 4th 640, 643-45 (5th Cir.
   2022), petition for cert. filed (U.S. Dec. 21, 2022) (No. 22-6391), but he notes
   that the Supreme Court is currently considering the same issue in another
   case.   The Government has filed an unopposed motion for summary
   affirmance, or, in the alternative, for an extension of time to file its brief. The
   Government correctly asserts that the issue is foreclosed by Palomares. In
   Palomares, we used a “distributive approach” to interpret § 3553(f)(1) and
   concluded that criminal defendants are “ineligible for safety-valve relief
   under § 3553(f)(1) if they run afoul of any one of its requirements.”
   Palomares, 52 F.4th at 647. Because the Government’s position “is clearly
   right as a matter of law so that there can be no substantial question as to the
   outcome of the case,” Groendyke Transp., Inc. v. Davis, 406 F.2d 1158, 1162
   (5th Cir. 1969), summary affirmance is proper.
           Accordingly, the Government’s motion for summary affirmance is
   GRANTED, and the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED. The
   Government’s alternative motion for an extension of time is DENIED.

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