United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS April 25, 2003
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
No. 02-21027
Summary Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
CARLOS RODRIGUEZ-MARTINEZ,
Defendant-Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
Before GARWOOD, JOLLY and SMITH, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Carlos Rodriguez-Martinez pleaded guilty to transportation of
illegal aliens under circumstances that placed the life of a person
in jeopardy in violation of 8 U.S.C. §§ 1324(a)(1)(A)(ii) and
(v)(II). He was sentenced to thirty-seven months’ imprisonment and
five years’ supervised release. Rodriguez-Martinez appeals his
sentence only and argues that the district court committed plain
error by sentencing him to five years’ supervised release, a term
in excess of the three year statutory maximum under 18 U.S.C. §
3559(a)(3). This contention was not raised in any form below. He
asks this court to vacate his sentence and remand for resentencing.
The Government concedes plain error. The authorized term of
imprisonment for a violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(ii) and
(v)(II) is not more than twenty years. 8 U.S.C. §
1324(a)(1)(B)(iii). This makes Rodriguez-Martinez’s offense a
Class C felony. 18 U.S.C. § 3559(a)(3). The authorized term of
supervised release for a Class C felony is not more than three
years. 18 U.S.C. § 3583(b)(2).
The sentence of five years’ supervised release meets the plain
error standard. United States v. Moreci, 283 F.3d 293, 300 (5th
Cir. 2002). The only disagreement between the defendant and the
Government is whether to remand for resentencing, or merely to
modify the term of supervised release. There is no need to remand.
The district court, having previously imposed the maximum five-year
supervised release term (and sentenced to the guideline maximum
term of imprisonment), would most likely impose the maximum of
three years’ supervised release again on remand. See United States
v. Hord, 6 F.3d 276, 280 n.8 (5th Cir. 1993); United States v.
Johnson, 961 F.2d 1188, 1189 (5th Cir. 1992). Rodriguez-Martinez’s
term of supervised release is accordingly modified to a term of
three years.
AFFIRMED AS MODIFIED.
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