United States v. Canales-Castillo

* 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this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except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
June 22, 2005
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 04-41436
Conference Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
WILFREDO CANALES-CASTILLO,
also known as Wilfredo Villatoro-Canales,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. 7:04-CR-435-ALL
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Before WIENER, BENAVIDES, and DENNIS, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Wilfredo Canales-Castillo appeals from the sentence imposed
following his guilty plea to illegal reentry. See 8 U.S.C.
§ 1326(b). He argues pursuant to Apprendi v. New Jersey,
530 U.S. 466 (2000), that Almendarez-Torres v. United States,
523 U.S. 224, 235 (1998), should be overruled. He concedes that
his constitutional argument is foreclosed by Almendarez-Torres,
and he raises it to preserve its further review by the Supreme

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No. 04-41436
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Court and to prevent procedural default in the event the law
changes.
Apprendi did not overrule Almendarez-Torres. See Apprendi,
530 U.S. at 489-90; United States v. Dabeit, 231 F.3d 979, 984
(5th Cir. 2000). We therefore must follow Almendarez-Torres
“unless and until the Supreme Court itself determines to overrule
it.” Dabeit, 231 F.3d at 984 (internal quotation marks and
citation omitted).
AFFIRMED.

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