Filed: Apr. 10, 2001
Latest Update: Mar. 02, 2020
Summary: IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT _ No. 00-40858 Summary Calendar _ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus LUIS C. ENCINAS, Defendant-Appellant. _ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. C-98-CR-41-1 _ April 10, 2001 Before JOLLY, WIENER, and PARKER, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Luis C. Encinas appeals the sentence imposed following his guilty plea conviction of possessing marijuana with the intent to distri
Summary: IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT _ No. 00-40858 Summary Calendar _ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus LUIS C. ENCINAS, Defendant-Appellant. _ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. C-98-CR-41-1 _ April 10, 2001 Before JOLLY, WIENER, and PARKER, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Luis C. Encinas appeals the sentence imposed following his guilty plea conviction of possessing marijuana with the intent to distrib..
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IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
_____________________
No. 00-40858
Summary Calendar
_____________________
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
LUIS C. ENCINAS,
Defendant-Appellant.
_________________________________________________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court for the
Southern District of Texas
USDC No. C-98-CR-41-1
_________________________________________________________________
April 10, 2001
Before JOLLY, WIENER, and PARKER, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Luis C. Encinas appeals the sentence imposed following his
guilty plea conviction of possessing marijuana with the intent to
distribute. We have reviewed the record, the briefs of the
parties, and the applicable law, and find no reversible error.
Encinas argues that the district court violated Federal Rule
of Criminal Procedure 32(c)(1) by failing to make a finding in
response to his objection regarding the quantity of marijuana
involved in his offense. The district court found that Encinas did
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 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this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except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 CIR. R. 47.5.4.
not object timely to the drug quantity calculation in the
presentence report (“PSR”). Accordingly, the drug quantity
calculation was not in controversy as that term is used in Rule
32(c)(1) and the court was not required to make a finding. United
States v. Myers,
198 F.3d 160, 167 (5th Cir. 1999), cert. denied,
120 S. Ct. 2230 (2000).
Encinas argues for the first time in his reply brief that the
district court erred in overruling his objection to the PSR as
untimely. We need not address Encinas’s argument because issues
raised for the first time in the reply brief are waived. See
Conkling v. Turner,
18 F.3d 1285, 1305 (5th Cir. 1994); Yohey v.
Collins,
985 F.2d 222, 224-25 (5th Cir. 1993).
Encinas contends that the district court erred in determining
the quantity of marijuana attributable to him for sentencing
purposes. Encinas’s fact-based argument could have been resolved
by the district court if he had properly raised the issue. Encinas
has not shown plain error. See Robertson v. Plano City of Texas,
70 F.3d 21, 23 (5th Cir. 1995). Moreover, Encinas has not shown
that the district court committed error, plain or otherwise, in
determining the drug quantity for sentencing purposes. The
district court was entitled to adopt the PSR’s drug quantity
calculation without further inquiry because Encinas did not present
any evidence to refute the PSR’s finding that he possessed
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approximately 43 kilograms of marijuana. United States v. Puig-
Infante,
19 F.3d 929, 943 (5th Cir. 1994).
Encinas argues that the district court violated Federal Rule
of Criminal Procedure 32(c)(1) by failing to make a finding as to
whether he committed the instant offense while serving a criminal
justice sentence. To the extent a finding was required, the
district court met its obligation by adopting the PSR. See United
States v. Duncan,
191 F.3d 569, 575 (5th Cir. 1999), cert. denied,
120 S. Ct. 1991 (2000).
Encinas argues that the district court erred by assigning him
two criminal history points because he committed the instant
offense while serving a criminal justice sentence. Even if the
district court erred in calculating Encinas’s sentence, any error
was harmless. The sentencing judge made it clear that she would
impose a 46-month sentence even if the two additional points were
not included in the calculation. See United States v. Tello,
9
F.3d 1119, 1131-32 (5th Cir. 1993)(quoting Williams v. United
States,
503 U.S. 193, 203 (1992)); Fed. R. Crim. P. 52(a) (defining
harmless error as “[a]ny error, defect, irregularity or variance
which does not affect substantial rights”).
A F F I R M E D.
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