United States v. Garcia-Suarez

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• Decided: July 2, 2024
• Docket: 23-11217
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

Case: 23-11217 Document: 58-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 07/02/2024

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ____________ United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 23-11217 Summary Calendar FILED ____________ July 2, 2024 Lyle W. Cayce United States of America, Clerk

Plaintiff—Appellee,

versus

Raunel Garcia-Suarez,

Defendant—Appellant. ______________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas USDC No. 3:22-CR-476-1 ______________________________

Before Barksdale, Graves, and Oldham, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam: * Raunel Garcia-Suarez challenges on two bases his guilty-plea conviction and within-Guidelines 70-months’ sentence for illegal reentry after removal from the United States, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) (prohibiting reentry of removed aliens), (b)(1) (setting applicable maximum penalty).

_____________________ * This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5. Case: 23-11217 Document: 58-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 07/02/2024

No. 23-11217

Garcia correctly concedes his contention that § 1326(b) violates due process is foreclosed by Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224 (1998), but raises the issue to preserve it for possible further review. See United States v. Pervis, 937 F.3d 546, 553–54 (5th Cir. 2019) (discussing Almendarez-Torres). He has abandoned, by failing to adequately brief, his challenge to the substantive reasonableness of his sentence. See, e.g., United States v. Stalnaker, 571 F.3d 428, 439–40 (5th Cir. 2009) (explaining challenges were waived when appellant did “not cite the record or relevant law”); Fed. R. App. P. 28(a)(8) (outlining requirements for appellant’s brief). AFFIRMED.