IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 00-50727
Conference Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
CARLOS LEON CHACON-ARVIZO,
also known as Carlos Chacon,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Texas
USDC No. EP-00-CR-272-1-DB
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December 14, 2000
Before DAVIS, STEWART, and PARKER, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Carlos Leon Chacon-Arvizo (“Chacon”) appeals his sentence
following his guilty-plea conviction for illegally reentering the
United States after having been deported, in violation of 8
U.S.C. § 1326. Chacon argues that a prior felony conviction is
an element of the offense of reentry following deportation after
a felony conviction in violation of § 1326(b) and that, because
the indictment to which he pleaded guilty failed to allege a
prior felony conviction, his sentence is illegal. Chacon
*
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that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent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. 00-50727
-2-
concedes that his argument is foreclosed by United States v.
Almendarez-Torres, 523 U.S. 224 (1998), but he argues that
Apprendi v. New Jersey, 120 S. Ct. 2348, 2362 (2000), casts doubt
on Almendarez-Torres and asserts that he is raising the argument
to preserve it for Supreme Court review.
Although the Supreme Court noted in Apprendi that, arguably,
Almendarez-Torres was incorrectly decided, the Court expressly
declined to overrule Almendarez-Torres. Apprendi, 120 S. Ct. at
2362-63 & n.15; United States v. Dabeit, ___ F.3d ___ (5th Cir.,
Oct. 30, 2000, No. 00-10065) 2000 WL 1634264 at *4. This court
is compelled to follow the precedent set in Almendarez-Torres
“unless and until the Supreme Court itself determines to overrule
it.” Dabeit, 2000 WL at *4. The district court’s judgment is
therefore AFFIRMED.