United States v. Meza-Lopez

* 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that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent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
October 22, 2003
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 03-40206
Conference Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
MARCO AMBROSIO MEZA-LOPEZ,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. L-02-CR-1233-ALL
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Before KING, Chief Judge, and JOLLY and STEWART, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Marco Ambrosio Meza-Lopez (Meza) appeals his guilty-plea
conviction and sentence for illegal reentry following deportation
in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. Meza argues that the “felony”
and “aggravated felony” provisions of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(b)(1) and
(2) are unconstitutional. Meza acknowledges that his argument is
foreclosed by Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224,
235 (1998), but he asserts that the decision has been cast into
doubt by Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 489-90 (2000). He

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No. 03-40206
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seeks to preserve his argument for possible further review and
“to avoid later accusations of procedural default should the law
change on this question.”
Meza’s Apprendi argument is foreclosed by Almendarez-Torres,
523 U.S. at 235. We must follow the precedent set in
Almendarez-Torres “unless and until the Supreme Court itself
determines to overrule it.” United States v. Dabeit, 231 F.3d
979, 984 (5th Cir. 2000) (internal quotation and citation
omitted).
AFFIRMED.

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