IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 00-40909
Conference Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
ROGELIO HUERTA-VALLIN,
Defendant-Appellant.
--------------------
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. M-00-CR-179-1
--------------------
February 15, 2001
Before SMITH, BARKSDALE, and EMILIO M. GARZA, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Rogelio Huerta-Vallin appeals his guilty-plea conviction and
sentence for being an alien illegally found in the United States
subsequent to deportation. See 8 U.S.C. § 1326. He argues that
a prior offense, upon which his sentence was enhanced, is an
element of an 8 U.S.C. § 1326(b) offense and that the failure of
the indictment to allege the element results in an illegal
sentence. He relies on Apprendi v. New Jersey, 120 S. Ct. 2348,
2362-63 (2000), for support. He acknowledges that his argument
is foreclosed by Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S.
*
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that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent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. 00-40909
-2-
224, 226-27 (1998), but he suggests that the holding of Apprendi
places the authority of Almendarez-Torres in question. He raises
the issue to preserve it for possible Supreme Court review. This
court is “compelled to follow faithfully a directly controlling
Supreme Court precedent unless and until the Supreme Court itself
determines to overrule it.” United States v. Dabeit, 231 F.3d
979, 984 (5th Cir. 2000) (internal quotation and citation
omitted), petition for cert. filed (U.S. Jan. 26, 2001) (No. 00-
8299). Accordingly, Huerta-Vallin’s argument is without merit.
See id.
AFFIRMED.