Court Opinion

ID: 9961160
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-04-18 00:01:06.400509+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:20:21.953483
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-50793            Document: 52-1         Page: 1      Date Filed: 04/17/2024

           United States Court of Appeals
                for the Fifth Circuit
                                   ____________
                                                                             United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                      Fifth Circuit
                                   No. 23-50793
                               consolidated with                                    FILED
                                    23-50804                                    April 17, 2024
                                 ____________                                  Lyle W. Cayce
                                                                                    Clerk
United States of America,

                                                                    Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                          versus

Cristobal Castillo-Velasquez,

                                            Defendant—Appellant,
                   ______________________________

                  Appeals from the United States District Court
                       for the Western District of Texas
                   USDC Nos. 2:21-CR-989-1, 2:21-CR-1153-1
                  ______________________________

Before Jones, Southwick, and Ho, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam: *
       Cristobal Castillo-Velasquez appeals his conviction and sentence for
illegal reentry into the United States in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326 as well as
the judgment revoking his term of supervised release for a prior offense. The

       _____________________
       *
           This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-50793        Document: 52-1        Page: 2   Date Filed: 04/17/2024

                                   23-50793
                               c/w No. 23-50804

latter challenge is unbriefed and thus abandoned. See United States v. Reagan,
596 F.3d 251, 254-55 (5th Cir. 2010).
       On appeal, Castillo-Velasquez contends that the recidivism
enhancement in § 1326(b) is unconstitutional because it permits a sentence
above the otherwise applicable statutory maximum established by § 1326(a)
based on facts that are neither alleged in the indictment nor found by a jury
beyond a reasonable doubt. Although Castillo-Velasquez acknowledges that
this argument 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.
       Because Castillo-Velasquez is correct that his argument is foreclosed,
see United States v. Pervis, 937 F.3d 546, 553-54 (5th Cir. 2019), summary
disposition is appropriate, see Groendyke Transp., Inc. v. Davis, 406 F.2d 1158,
1162 (5th Cir. 1969).        Accordingly, Castillo-Velasquez’s motion is
GRANTED, and the district court’s judgments are AFFIRMED.

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