Filed: Aug. 12, 2005
Latest Update: Feb. 21, 2020
Summary: United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit F I L E D UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FIFTH CIRCUIT August 12, 2005 Charles R. Fulbruge III Clerk No. 04-30079 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus HIRAM GARCIA, Defendant-Appellant. ********************************************* Consolidated with No. 04-30127 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus JESSE VITELA, Defendant-Appellant. Appeals from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana (02-
Summary: United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit F I L E D UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FIFTH CIRCUIT August 12, 2005 Charles R. Fulbruge III Clerk No. 04-30079 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus HIRAM GARCIA, Defendant-Appellant. ********************************************* Consolidated with No. 04-30127 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus JESSE VITELA, Defendant-Appellant. Appeals from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana (02-C..
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United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FIFTH CIRCUIT August 12, 2005
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
No. 04-30079
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
HIRAM GARCIA,
Defendant-Appellant.
*********************************************
Consolidated with
No. 04-30127
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
JESSE VITELA,
Defendant-Appellant.
Appeals from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Louisiana
(02-CR-50503-2)
ON REMAND FROM THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
Before BARKSDALE, GARZA, and DeMOSS, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
In a consolidated opinion, this court affirmed Hiram Garcia’s
and Jesse Vitela’s guilty-plea convictions for conspiracy to
possess with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of powder
cocaine, possession with intent to distribute more than 500 grams
of powder cocaine, and possession with intent to distribute a
detectable amount of marijuana. United States v. Garcia, No. 04-
30079, 112 Fed. Appx. 991 (5th Cir. 17 Nov. 2004). Garcia was
sentenced to 150 months imprisonment; Vitela to 121 months.
The Supreme Court granted Garcia’s and Vitela’s petitions for
writ of certiorari and for leave to proceed in forma pauperis;
vacated our previous judgment; and remanded the case for further
consideration in the light of United States v. Booker, 543 U.S.
___,
125 S. Ct. 738 (2005). Garcia v. United States,
125 S. Ct.
1714 (2005); Vitela v. United States,
125 S. Ct. 1716 (2005). We
requested, and received, supplemental briefs addressing the impact
of Booker. Having reconsidered our decision pursuant to the
Supreme Court’s instructions, we reinstate our judgment affirming
the convictions and sentences.
*
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.
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For the first time in his petition for writ of certiorari,
Vitela challenged the constitutionality of his sentence, based on
the holding in Booker, because he was sentenced based on certain
facts neither pleaded to, nor found by, a jury. Absent
extraordinary circumstances, we will not consider a defendant’s
Booker-related claims presented for the first time in a petition
for writ of certiorari. United States v. Taylor,
409 F.3d 675, 676
(5th Cir. 2005).
Vitela has presented no evidence of extraordinary
circumstances. See United States v. Ogle, ___ F.3d ___,
2005 WL
1503538 (5th Cir. 27 June 2005) (per curiam) (holding that
extraordinary circumstances require a showing of a “possibility of
injustice so grave as to warrant disregard of usual procedural
rules”). Even if such circumstances were not required, because
Vitela did not raise his Booker-claims in district court, any
review would be only for plain error. See United States v. Mares,
402 F.3d 511, 520 (5th Cir. 2005), petition for cert. filed, (U.S.
31 A.K. Marsh. 2005) (No. 04-9517). Vitela contends his claims satisfy
plain-error review, as described in Mares, because, according to
Vitela, the district court believed it was “precluded from
departing below the sentencing guidelines range[,] despite Vitela’s
cooperation, given that the government had not filed a motion
pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1”. However, Vitela provides no
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citation to the record for the statement; accordingly, his claim
fails.
As for Garcia, he raised Booker error for the first time on
appeal, by means of a pre-oral argument Federal Rule of Appellate
Procedure 28(j) letter. This is sufficient to preserve plain error
review. See U.S. v. Garcia-Rodriguez, ___ F.3d ___,
2005 WL
1538993, at *4 n.4 (5th Cir. 30 June 2005). He concedes, however,
that “there is no clear indication in the record that the judge
would have reached a different result if he had not been required
to sentence pursuant to mandated guidelines sentencing range”.
Instead, he has raised the issue to preserve it for further review.
(Along this line, both Vitela and Garcia contend: the district
court committed “structural error” when it sentenced them under a
mandatory guidelines system; and prejudice to their substantial
rights should therefore be presumed. Our court has rejected this
contention as inconsistent with Mares. See United States v.
Malveaux,
411 F.3d 558, 560 n.9 (5th Cir. 2005).)
In sum, because Vitela fails to cite to the relevant portions
of the record, he falls far short of showing the requisite
extraordinary circumstances. And, as Garcia admits, he fails plain
error review.
AFFIRMED
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