Court Opinion

ID: 9410597
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-07-22 00:00:35.682555+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:20:58.917355
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-50724       Document: 00516829563             Page: 1      Date Filed: 07/21/2023

              United States Court of Appeals
                   for the Fifth Circuit
                                    ____________
                                                                             United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                      Fifth Circuit
                                     No. 22-50724
                                   Summary Calendar                                 FILED
                                   ____________                                 July 21, 2023
                                                                               Lyle W. Cayce
   United States of America,                                                        Clerk

                                                                    Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                           versus

   Sostenes Omar Mendoza-Ponce,

                                             Defendant—Appellant.
                    ______________________________

                    Appeal from the United States District Court
                         for the Western District of Texas
                              USDC No. 7:22-CR-56-1
                    ______________________________

   Before Jones, Haynes, and Oldham, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
          Sostenes Omar Mendoza-Ponce pleaded guilty to two counts of
   conspiring to transport and harbor aliens, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324, and
   was sentenced to 37 months of imprisonment to be followed by a three-year
   term of supervised release.

          _____________________
          *
              Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion
   should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set
   forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4.
Case: 22-50724      Document: 00516829563          Page: 2   Date Filed: 07/21/2023

                                    No. 22-50724

          For the first time on appeal, Mendoza-Ponce challenges the condition
   of his supervised release which provides that, if the probation officer
   determines that Mendoza-Ponce presents a risk to another person, the
   probation officer may require Mendoza-Ponce to notify the person of that
   risk and may contact the person to confirm that notification occurred.
   Mendoza-Ponce contends that this condition constitutes an improper
   delegation of judicial authority to the probation officer. He concedes that his
   argument is foreclosed by our recent decision in United States v.
   Mejia-Banegas, 32 F.4th 450 (5th Cir. 2022), but he raises the issue to
   preserve it for further review. The Government has filed an unopposed
   motion for summary affirmance, asserting that Mendoza-Ponce’s claim is
   foreclosed by Mejia-Banegas.
          We held in Mejia-Banegas that such a risk-notification condition did
   not impermissibly delegate judicial authority, plainly or otherwise. 32 F.4th
   at 451-52. The parties are thus correct that the issue is foreclosed, and the
   Government is correct that summary affirmance is appropriate.              See
   Groendyke Transp., Inc. v. Davis, 406 F.2d 1158, 1162 (5th Cir. 1969).
          The Government’s motion for summary affirmance is GRANTED,
   and the district court’s judgment is AFFIRMED.

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