Court Opinion

ID: 9399426
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-06-03 00:00:29.148729+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:19:06.629150
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-51076        Document: 00516773696             Page: 1      Date Filed: 06/02/2023

             United States Court of Appeals
                  for the Fifth Circuit
                                     ____________
                                                                               United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                        Fifth Circuit
                                      No. 22-51076
                                    Summary Calendar                                   FILED
                                    ____________                                     June 2, 2023
                                                                                 Lyle W. Cayce
   United States of America,                                                          Clerk

                                                                      Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                            versus

   Jose Humberto Hernandez-Mendez,

                                              Defendant—Appellant.
                     ______________________________

                     Appeal from the United States District Court
                          for the Western District of Texas
                              USDC No. 4:22-CR-637-1
                     ______________________________

   Before Jones, Stewart, and Duncan, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
         Jose Humberto Hernandez-Mendez appeals his sentence of 30
   months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release imposed
   following his guilty plea conviction for illegal reentry after removal. He
   argues that the enhanced punishment provision in 8 U.S.C. § 1326(b) is
   unconstitutional because it allows a sentence above the otherwise applicable

         _____________________
         *
             This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 22-51076      Document: 00516773696          Page: 2    Date Filed: 06/02/2023

                                    No. 22-51076

   statutory maximum of two years of imprisonment and one year of supervised
   release based on facts that are neither alleged in the indictment nor found by
   a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. See also 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) (setting
   otherwise applicable two-year maximum prison term); 18 U.S.C. §§ 3559(a)
   (classifying felonies), 3583(b) (setting maximum supervised release terms for
   different felony classes).
          Hernandez-Mendez has filed an unopposed motion for summary
   disposition and a letter brief correctly conceding that the only issue he raises
   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 explains that
   he has raised the issue to preserve it for possible further review. Accordingly,
   because summary disposition is appropriate, see Groendyke Transp., Inc. v.
   Davis, 406 F.2d 1158, 1162 (5th Cir. 1969), Hernandez-Mendez’s motion is
   GRANTED, and the district court’s judgment is AFFIRMED.

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