United States v. Trejo

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

United States v. Trejo

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

No. 02-20398 Summary Calendar

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

Plaintiff - Appellee

v.

MOISES TREJO

Defendant - Appellant

-------------------- Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. H-01-CR-724-ALL -------------------- January 24, 2003

Before KING, Chief Judge, and SMITH and DENNIS, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:*

Moises Trejo appeals his sentence following his guilty-plea

conviction for being an alien unlawfully found in the United

States after deportation, a violation of

8 U.S.C. § 1326

. Trejo

first argues that his prior felony conviction for possession of a

controlled substance did not merit the eight-level adjustment

under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(C) for an aggravated felony and that

he should have received only the four-level adjustment provided

in § 2L1.2(b)(1)(D) for “any other felony.” Trejo’s arguments

* 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 R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.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. No. 02-20398 -2-

regarding the definitions of “drug trafficking offense” and

“aggravated felony” were recently foreclosed by United States v.

Caicedo-Cuero,

312 F.3d 697, 706-11

(5th Cir. 2002). The

district court thus did not err in assessing an eight-level

adjustment, pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(C). Id.

Trejo also argues that the enhancement provisions of

8 U.S.C. § 1326

(b) are unconstitutional. He acknowledges that his

argument is foreclosed by the decision in Almendarez-Torres v.

United States,

523 U.S. 224

(1998), but he seeks to preserve the

issue for Supreme Court review in light of the decision in

Apprendi v. New Jersey,

530 U.S. 466, 490

(2000). Apprendi did

not overrule Almendarez-Torres. Apprendi,

530 U.S. at 489-90, 496

; United States v. Dabeit,

231 F.3d 979, 984

(5th Cir. 2000).

The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.

Reference

Status
Unpublished