U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 2009

United States v. Oscar Castellano-Martinez

United States v. Oscar Castellano-Martinez
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Decided December 18, 2009 · Jones, Higginbotham, Haynes
356 F. App'x 758

United States v. Oscar Castellano-Martinez

Opinion of the Court

PER CURIAM: *

The grand jury returned a one count indictment against Oscar Castellano-Mar-tinez, charging §§ 1326(a) and 1326(b), with a maximum penalty of twenty years’ imprisonment. Upon a plea of guilty to the single count, the district court sentenced him to thirty-six months in prison. Concluding that the proceedings were infected by the then-evolving principles of Apprendi, we VACATE the judgment of conviction and sentence and REMAND to allow proceedings to commence afresh, including rearraignment, acceptance of any tendered plea of guilty in which Castellano-Martinez admits to the conduct supporting the charge under §§ 1326(a) and 1326(b), which under Apprendi includes the elements of both, or to trial upon a plea of not guilty entered by Castellano-Martinez or the court. Nothing herein forecloses the usual processes of plea bargaining.

Pursuant to 5th Cir. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Cir. R. 47.5.4.

Concurring Opinion

HAYNES, Circuit Judge,

concurring.

I concur in remanding this case to the district court to consider this case anew in light of developments in the law. See, e.g., United States v. Rojas-Luna, 522 F.3d 502, 504-06 (5th Cir. 2008).

Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.