United States v. Lopez-Nino
United States v. Lopez-Nino
Opinion of the Court
Arturo Lopez-Nino appeals from his guilty-plea conviction for illegal reentry of a deported alien, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. He argues that his sentence should be vacated and remanded because the district court sentenced him under the mandatory guidelines scheme held unconstitutional in United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005).
The district court committed “Fanfan” error by sentencing Lopez-Nino pursuant to a mandatory guidelines scheme. See United States v. Walters, 418 F.3d 461, 463-64 (5th Cir. 2005). Although LopezNino contends that such error is structural, this argument is foreclosed by circuit precedent. See id. at 463.
The Government concedes that LopezNino preserved his Fanfan claim. As such, this court reviews the claim for harmless error. See id. at 464. There is no indication in the record that the district court would have imposed the same sentence had the guidelines been advisory rather than mandatory. Accordingly, we VACATE the sentence and REMAND for resentencing in accordance with Booker.
Lopez-Nino also challenges the constitutionality of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(b). His constitutional challenge is foreclosed by Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224, 235, 118 S.Ct. 1219, 140 L.Ed.2d 350 (1998). Although Lopez-Nino contends that Almendarez-Torres was incorrectly decided and that a majority of the Supreme Court would overrule AlmendarezTorres in light of Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d
CONVICTION AFFIRMED; SENTENCE VACATED; CASE REMANDED.
Pursuant to 5th Cir. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Cir. R. 47.5.4.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-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.