United States v. Castro-Barron

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT No. 00-11419 Conference Calendar UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus FABIAN CASTRO-BARRON, also known as J. Natividad-Deleon, also known as Natividad Deleon, also known as Irineo Tapia-Baron, Defendant-Appellant. -------------------- Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas USDC No. 4:00-CR-143-1-Y -------------------- August 23, 2001 Before KING, Chief Judge, and POLITZ and PARKER, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Fabian Castro-Barron appeals the 46-month term of imprisonment imposed following his guilty plea conviction of being found in the United States after deportation in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. For the first time on appeal, Castro-Barron argues that his guilty plea was involuntary. Castro-Barron contends that the magistrate judge failed to advise him during the plea colloquy that a prior aggravated felony conviction is an * 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 R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.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. 00-11419 -2- element of the offense under 8 U.S.C. § 1326(b)(2), which the government would have to prove to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. Castro-Barron acknowledges that his argument is foreclosed by the Supreme Court’s decision in Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224 (1998), but seeks to preserve the issue for Supreme Court review in light of the decision in Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000). Apprendi did not overrule Almendarez-Torres. See Apprendi, 530 U.S. at 489-90; United States v. Dabeit, 231 F.3d 979, 984 (5th Cir. 2000), cert. denied, 121 S. Ct. 1214 (2001). Castro- Barron’s argument is foreclosed. The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED. In lieu of filing an appellee’s brief, the Government has filed a motion asking this court to dismiss this appeal or, in the alternative, to summarily affirm the district court’s judgment. The Government’s motion to dismiss is DENIED. The motion for a summary affirmance is GRANTED. The Government need not file an appellee’s brief. AFFIRMED; MOTION TO DISMISS DENIED; MOTION FOR SUMMARY AFFIRMANCE GRANTED.