195 F. App'x 225

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Dennis Alexia LANZA-GUILLEN, also known as Dennis Lanza, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 05-20959

Conference Calendar.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

Aug. 25, 2006.

James Lee Turner, Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of Texas, Houston, TX, for PlaintiffAppellee.

Marjorie A. Meyers, Federal Public Defender, H. Michael Sokolow, Federal Public Defender’s Office Southern District of Texas, Houston, TX, for Defendant-Appellant.

Before DAVIS, SMITH, and WIENER, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM: *

Dennis Alexia Lanza-Guillen appeals his guilty-plea conviction and 57-month sentence for violating 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) and (b)(2) by being found in the United States without permission, following deportation. Lanza-Guillen challenges as unconstitutional § 1326(b)’s treatment of prior felony and aggravated felony convictions as sen*226teneing factors rather than elements of the offense that must be found by a jury.

Lanza-Guillen’s 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 Lanza-Guillen contends that Almendarez-Torres was incorrectly decided and that a majority of the Supreme Court would overrule Almendarez-Torres in light of Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), we have repeatedly rejected such arguments on the basis that Almendarez-Torres remains binding. See United States v. Garza-Lopez, 410 F.3d 268, 276 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. —, 126 S.Ct. 298, 163 L.Ed.2d 260 (2005). Lanza-Guillen properly concedes that his argument is foreclosed in light of Almendarez-Torres and circuit precedent, but he raises it here to preserve it for further review.

AFFIRMED.

United States v. Lanza-Guillen
195 F. App'x 225

Case Details

Name
United States v. Lanza-Guillen
Decision Date
Aug 25, 2006
Citations

195 F. App'x 225

Jurisdiction
United States

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