Filed: Jul. 24, 2019
Latest Update: Mar. 03, 2020
Summary: Case: 18-11205 Document: 00515047560 Page: 1 Date Filed: 07/24/2019 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED No. 18-11205 July 24, 2019 Summary Calendar Lyle W. Cayce Clerk UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee v. CARLA LEON-TORRES, Defendant-Appellant Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas USDC No. 4:18-CR-104-1 Before REAVLEY, JONES, and HIGGINSON, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: *
Summary: Case: 18-11205 Document: 00515047560 Page: 1 Date Filed: 07/24/2019 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED No. 18-11205 July 24, 2019 Summary Calendar Lyle W. Cayce Clerk UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee v. CARLA LEON-TORRES, Defendant-Appellant Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas USDC No. 4:18-CR-104-1 Before REAVLEY, JONES, and HIGGINSON, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: * ..
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Case: 18-11205 Document: 00515047560 Page: 1 Date Filed: 07/24/2019
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
No. 18-11205 July 24, 2019
Summary Calendar
Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee
v.
CARLA LEON-TORRES,
Defendant-Appellant
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Texas
USDC No. 4:18-CR-104-1
Before REAVLEY, JONES, and HIGGINSON, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM: *
Carla Leon-Torres appeals the 30-month within-guidelines sentence
imposed following her guilty plea conviction of illegal reentry after removal
from the United States. She argues that her indictment alleged only those
facts sufficient for a conviction under 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) and did not include
any allegations of a prior conviction necessary for a sentence under
§ 1326(b)(1).
* 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 R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH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.
Case: 18-11205 Document: 00515047560 Page: 2 Date Filed: 07/24/2019
No. 18-11205
According to Leon-Torres, her sentence under § 1326(b)(1) violates her
due process rights by exceeding the two-year statutory maximum imposed by
§ 1326(a). She concedes that this argument is foreclosed by Almendarez-Torres
v. United States,
523 U.S. 224, 226-27 (1998), but seeks to preserve the issue
for further review. The Government has moved unopposed for summary
affirmance, agreeing that the issue is foreclosed; in the alternative, the
Government moves for an extension of time to file a brief.
In
Almendarez-Torres, 523 U.S. at 239-47, the Supreme Court held that,
for purposes of a statutory sentencing enhancement, a prior conviction is not
an element of the offense that must be alleged in the indictment or found by a
jury beyond a reasonable doubt. This court has held that subsequent Supreme
Court decisions did not overrule Almendarez-Torres. See, e.g., United States v.
Wallace,
759 F.3d 486, 497 (5th Cir. 2014) (considering the effect of Alleyne v.
United States,
570 U.S. 99 (2013)); United States v. Pineda-Arrellano,
492 F.3d
624, 625-26 (5th Cir. 2007) (considering the effect of Apprendi v. New Jersey,
530 U.S. 466 (2000)). Thus, Leon-Torres’s argument is foreclosed and
summary affirmance is appropriate. See Groendyke Transp., Inc. v. Davis,
406
F.2d 1158, 1162 (5th Cir. 1969).
Accordingly, the Government’s motion for summary affirmance is
GRANTED, and the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED. The
Government’s alternative motion for an extension of time to file a brief is
DENIED.
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