Court Opinion

ID: 9899990
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-11-18 01:00:31.252576+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:20:57.954535
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-40368         Document: 00516973176             Page: 1      Date Filed: 11/17/2023

              United States Court of Appeals
                   for the Fifth Circuit
                                      ____________                        United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                   Fifth Circuit

                                       No. 23-40368
                                                                                 FILED
                                                                         November 17, 2023
                                     Summary Calendar
                                     ____________                           Lyle W. Cayce
                                                                                 Clerk
   United States of America,

                                                                       Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                             versus

   Eleuterio Covarrubias-Martinez,

                                               Defendant—Appellant.
                      ______________________________

                      Appeal from the United States District Court
                          for the Southern District of Texas
                               USDC No. 7:22-CR-1932-1
                      ______________________________

   Before Smith, Higginson, and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam:*
          Eleuterio Covarrubias-Martinez appeals his conviction and sentence
   for being found in the United States after a previous deportation. He argues
   that 8 U.S.C. § 1326(b) is unconstitutional because it allows a sentence above
   the otherwise applicable statutory maximum established by § 1326(a) based

          _____________________
          *
              This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-40368      Document: 00516973176          Page: 2    Date Filed: 11/17/2023

                                    No. 23-40368

   on facts that are neither alleged in the indictment nor found by a jury beyond
   a reasonable doubt.
          Covarrubias-Martinez 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), Covarrubias-Martinez’s motion
   is GRANTED, and the district court’s judgment is AFFIRMED.

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