United States v. Salazar-Dozal

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT No. 00-10879 Conference Calendar UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus HERMAN SALAZAR-DOZAL, Defendant-Appellant. -------------------- Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas USDC No. 1:00-CR-26-1-C -------------------- April 12, 2001 Before JOLLY, HIGGINBOTHAM, and JONES, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Herman Salazar-Dozal appeals his 96-month sentence following his plea of guilty to a charge of illegal re-entry to the United States after deportation, a violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. Salazar asserts that the felony conviction that resulted in his increased sentence under 8 U.S.C. § 1326(b)(2) was an element of the offense that should have been alleged in the indictment. He acknowledges that his argument is foreclosed by Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224, 226-27 (1998), but he seeks to preserve the issue for Supreme Court review in light of Apprendi * 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 R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.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. 00-10879 -2- v. New Jersey, 120 S. Ct. 2348, 2362-63 (2000). Apprendi did not overrule Almendarez-Torres. See Apprendi, 120 S. Ct. at 2361-62 & n.15; United States v. Dabeit, 231 F.3d 979, 984 (5th Cir. 2000), cert. denied, 121 S. Ct. 1214 (2001). Salazar’s argument is foreclosed. See Almendarez-Torres, 523 U.S. at 235. AFFIRMED.