Court Opinion

ID: 9399136
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-06-02 00:00:45.954737+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:19:39.079953
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-50087        Document: 00516771424             Page: 1      Date Filed: 06/01/2023

             United States Court of Appeals
                  for the Fifth Circuit
                                     ____________
                                                                               United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                        Fifth Circuit
                                      No. 23-50087
                                    Summary Calendar                                   FILED
                                    ____________                                     June 1, 2023
                                                                                 Lyle W. Cayce
   United States of America,                                                          Clerk

                                                                      Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                            versus

   Hermenegildo Garcia-Gutierrez,

                                              Defendant—Appellant.
                     ______________________________

                     Appeal from the United States District Court
                          for the Western District of Texas
                              USDC No. 4:22-CR-636-1
                     ______________________________

   Before Stewart, Dennis, and Willett, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
         Hermenegildo Garcia-Gutierrez appeals his sentence for illegal
   reentry into the United States under 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) and (b)(1). Garcia-
   Gutierrez argues that the recidivism enhancement in § 1326(b) is
   unconstitutional because it permits a sentence above the applicable
   maximum in § 1326(a), based on facts neither alleged in the indictment nor

         _____________________
         *
             This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-50087     Document: 00516771424           Page: 2   Date Filed: 06/01/2023

                                    No. 23-50087

   found by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. Garcia-Gutierrez acknowledges
   that his argument is foreclosed by Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523
   U.S. 224 (1998), but he nevertheless seeks to preserve it for possible Supreme
   Court review. Accordingly, Garcia-Gutierrez has filed an unopposed motion
   for summary disposition.
          We have 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). As Garcia-Gutierrez concedes
   that his argument is foreclosed, summary disposition is appropriate. See
   Groendyke Transp., Inc. v. Davis, 406 F.2d 1158, 1162 (5th Cir. 1969).
          Garcia-Gutierrez’s motion is GRANTED, and the district court’s
   judgment is AFFIRMED.

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