United States v. Paniagua-Maravilla

* 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this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except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.
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
February 14, 2007
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 05-41496
Conference Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
HIPOLITO M. PANIAGUA-MARAVILLA, also known as Martin
Chavez-Alejo,
Defendant-Appellant.
--------------------
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. 7:05-CR-406-ALL
--------------------
Before BARKSDALE, GARZA, and CLEMENT, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Hipolito M. Paniagua-Maravilla (Paniagua) appeals his
guilty-plea conviction under 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) and (b). He
asserts that the “felony” and “aggravated felony” provisions of
the statute cause it to be unconstitutional on its face and as
applied in his case. Paniagua’s constitutional challenge is
foreclosed by Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224,
235 (1998). Although Paniagua contends that Almendarez-Torres
was incorrectly decided and that a majority of the Supreme Court

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No. 05-41496
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would overrule Almendarez-Torres in light of Apprendi v. New
Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000), we have repeatedly rejected such
arguments on the basis that Almendarez-Torres remains binding.
See United States v. Garza-Lopez, 410 F.3d 268, 276 (5th Cir.),
cert. denied, 126 S. Ct. 298 (2005). Paniagua properly concedes
that his argument is foreclosed in light of Almendarez-Torres and
circuit precedent, but he raises it here to preserve it for
further review.
The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.

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