United States v. Miranda-Moya
United States v. Miranda-Moya
Opinion of the Court
This matter is before us on remand from the United States Supreme Court for reconsideration in light of its recent opinion in United States v. Booker.
I. BACKGROUND
Miranda-Moya pled guilty to and was convicted of attempting to enter the United States unlawfully after removal, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. This offense carries a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment. At the time of his attempt to reenter the United States, Miranda-Moya was on probation for a prior conviction for a crime of violence, which under § 1326(b) triggered an increase in the statutory maximum term of imprisonment. The district court imposed a sentence of 46 months’ imprisonment. Miranda-Moya objected to the sentence on the ground that it exceeded the statutory maximum, which objection the district court overruled.
Miranda-Moya appealed his conviction and sentence, arguing that because the indictment did not state a § 1326(b) offense because it did not allege a prior conviction, his sentence exceeded the statutory maximum in violation of his constitutional due process rights. In his brief on appeal Miranda-Moya acknowledged that his arguments were foreclosed by precedent, but raised them only to preserve them for possible review by the Supreme Court. We affirmed the conviction and sentence in an unpublished opinion.
II. DISCUSSION
A. Standard of Review
Miranda-Moya raised his Booker claim for the first time in his supplemental petition for certiorari. Therefore, we will not review his Booker claim absent “extraordinary circumstances.”
Under plain error review, we will not remand for resentencing unless there is “(1) error, (2) that is plain, and (3) that affects substantial rights.”
B. Merits
In his supplemental letter brief, Miranda-Moya concedes that “the district judge made no particular remarks disagreeing with the requirements of the mandatory guidelines,” or otherwise indicating that she would have sentenced him differently under an advisory Guidelines scheme. Instead, Miranda-Moya calls to our attention “mitigating circumstances surrounding [his] illegal reentry offense [that] support a finding of a reasonable likelihood of a lower sentence.” He invites us to draw the conclusion that it was “apparently in light of these [mitigating] circumstances” that the district court imposed the minimum Guidelines sentence.
In United States v. Bringier, we held that “[t]he fact that the sentencing judge imposed the minimum sentence under the Guideline range ... alone is no indication that the judge would have reached a different conclusion under an advisory scheme.”
Miranda-Moya next expresses his disagreement with our application of the plain error standard, as articulated in Mares, in order to preserve a challenge for possible Supreme Court review. He urges us to abandon our approach and instead apply that of the Fourth Circuit.
As Miranda-Moya has failed to satisfy plain error review, we do not reach his argument that error in his sentencing seri
III. CONCLUSION
As there exist no extraordinary circumstances or other grounds for relief, Miranda-Moya’s sentence is AFFIRMED. The Government’s motion to reinstate our prior affirmance is DENIED as moot.
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.
. 543 U.S. 220, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005).
. United. States v. Miranda-Moya, 110 Fed. Appx. 429 (5th Cir. 2004) (unpublished opinion).
. United States v. Taylor, 409 F.3d 675, 676 (5th Cir. 2005).
. Id.
. Id.
. United States v. Cotton, 535 U.S. 625, 631, 122 S.Ct. 1781, 152 L.Ed.2d 860 (2002).
. Id.
. United States v. Mares, 402 F.3d 511, 521 (5th Cir. 2005).
. Id. (quoting United States v. Dominguez Ben-itez, 542 U.S. 74, 124 S.Ct. 2333, 159 L.Ed.2d 157 (2004)).
. Id. at 522.
. 405 F.3d 310, 318 n. 4 (5th Cir. 2005) (citing Mares, 402 F.3d at 521-22).
. See United States v. Hughes, 401 F.3d 540, 549 (4th Cir. 2005).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.