Court Opinion

ID: 9890702
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-10-14 00:00:32.616096+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:50:02.598856
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-50291        Document: 00516931184             Page: 1      Date Filed: 10/13/2023

             United States Court of Appeals
                  for the Fifth Circuit
                                     ____________
                                                                               United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                        Fifth Circuit
                                      No. 23-50291
                                    Summary Calendar                                  FILED
                                    ____________                               October 13, 2023
                                                                                 Lyle W. Cayce
   United States of America,                                                          Clerk

                                                                      Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                            versus

   Leoncio Fernando Avila-Mendez,

                                              Defendant—Appellant.
                     ______________________________

                     Appeal from the United States District Court
                          for the Western District of Texas
                              USDC No. 2:21-CR-749-1
                     ______________________________

   Before Wiener, Stewart, and Douglas, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
         Defendant-Appellant Leoncio Fernando Avila-Mendez appeals his
   conviction and sentence for illegal reentry into the United States after
   removal. For the first time on appeal, Avila-Mendez contends that the
   recidivism enhancement in 8 U.S.C. § 1326(b) is unconstitutional because it
   permits a sentence above the otherwise applicable statutory maximum

         _____________________
         *
             This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-50291      Document: 00516931184          Page: 2   Date Filed: 10/13/2023

                                    No. 23-50291

   established by § 1326(a) based on facts that are neither alleged in the
   indictment nor found by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. Although Avila-
   Mendez acknowledges that this contention is foreclosed by Almendarez-
   Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224 (1998), he nevertheless seeks to preserve
   it for possible Supreme Court review and has filed an unopposed motion for
   summary disposition. See United States v. Garza-De La Cruz, 16 F.4th 1213,
   1214 (5th Cir. 2021) (Costa & Ho, JJ., concurring).
          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). Accordingly, Avila-Mendez is
   correct that his argument is foreclosed, and summary disposition is
   appropriate. See Groendyke Transp., Inc. v. Davis, 406 F.2d 1158, 1162 (5th
   Cir. 1969).
          IT IS ORDERED that Avila-Mendez’s motion is GRANTED,
   and the district court’s judgment is AFFIRMED.

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