Background
Samuel Perez-Avalos was convicted of illegal reentry in violation of Section thirteen twenty-six of Title eight of the United States Code. He appealed, arguing that the statutory sentencing enhancement in Section thirteen twenty-six, subsection B, is unconstitutional. The Government filed an unopposed motion for summary affirmance.
The court’s reasoning
The court found that the defendant’s argument regarding the constitutionality of the sentencing enhancement is foreclosed by the Supreme Court’s decision in Almendarez-Torres v. United States. The court also noted that this position is consistent with its prior ruling in United States v. Pervis and the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Erlinger v. United States. Consequently, summary affirmance was deemed appropriate.
What it means going forward
The judgment of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas is affirmed, leaving the conviction and sentence in place.