IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 98-50307
Summary Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
VERSUS
LORENZO FORD,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Texas
USDC No. W-97-CR-51-1
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October 2, 1998
Before JOLLY, SMITH, and WIENER, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Lorenzo Ford appeals his sentence in a guilty-plea
conviction for distribution of crack cocaine within 1,000 feet of
a public school in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and
860(a). He argues that the district court erred in holding that
he should be sentenced as a career offender, because one of the
underlying state offenses either was void or had been dismissed
by the trial court.
The district court may inquire into the validity of prior
proceedings that have not been reversed or vacated by the state
*
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should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited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. 98-50307
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courts, but this inquiry is discretionary. United States v.
Canales, 960 F.2d 1311, 1315 (5th Cir. 1992); United States v.
Howard, 991 F.2d 195, 199 (5th Cir. 1993). We have reviewed the
record, the applicable law, and the briefs of the parties and
conclude that the district court did not err in finding that the
state-court conviction was valid for purposes of career-offender
status. The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.