United States v. Flores-Alvarado

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit F I L E D IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT October 25, 2006

Charles R. Fulbruge III Clerk No. 06-40104 Conference Calendar

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff-Appellee,

versus

MIGUEL A. FLORES-ALVARADO,

Defendant-Appellant.

-------------------- Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 7:05-CR-567-ALL --------------------

Before JOLLY, DeMOSS, and STEWART, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:*

Miguel A. Flores-Alvarado (Flores) appeals his guilty-plea

conviction and sentence for importing into the United States from

Mexico approximately 9.29 kilograms of cocaine, in violation of

21 U.S.C. §§ 952(a), 960(a)(1), and 960(b)(1)(B) and 18 U.S.C.

§ 2. Flores raises only one argument in this court. For the

first time on appeal, he contends that 21 U.S.C. §§ 952 and

960(a) and (b) are facially unconstitutional under Apprendi v.

New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000), because drug quantity is an

element of the offense that must be presented to the trier of

* 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 R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.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. 06-40104 -2-

fact. As Flores acknowledges, this argument is foreclosed by

this court’s precedent. See United States v. Slaughter, 238 F.3d

580, 582 (5th Cir. 2000).

AFFIRMED.