United States v. Rios

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

No. 19-40440
Summary Calendar

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff-Appellee

v.

HECTOR ANDRES RIOS,

Defendant-Appellant

Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. 1:18-CR-579-1

Before KING, GRAVES, and WILLETT, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
*

Hector Andres Rios challenges the sentence imposed following his guilty
plea conviction for possession with intent to distribute more than 100
kilograms of marijuana. Rios argues that the district court erred by including
a special condition of supervised release in the written judgment that was not
orally pronounced at sentence.

*
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 R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5
TH
CIR. R. 47.5.4.
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
July 17, 2020

Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
Case: 19-40440 Document: 00515494264 Page: 1 Date Filed: 07/17/2020

No. 19-40440
2
We review challenges to conditions of supervised release for an abuse of
discretion. United States v. Huor, 852 F.3d 392, 397 (5th Cir. 2017). The
district court abused its discretion by requiring Rios to participate in an
educational services program during his term of supervision regardless of
whether he had obtained his GED because this special condition impermissibly
broadened the orally pronounced special condition which required that Rios
participate in an educational services program for the sole purpose of obtaining
his GED if he had not already done so during his term of imprisonment. See
United States v. Rivas-Estrada, 906 F.3d 346, 348, 350 (5th Cir. 2018); United
States v. Mudd, 685 F.3d 473, 480 (5th Cir. 2012); United States v. Mireles, 471
F.3d 551, 558 (5th Cir. 2006). Accordingly, Rios’s sentence is VACATED IN
PART and REMANDED to the district court for the limited purpose of
conforming the written judgment to the oral pronouncement of sentence.
Case: 19-40440 Document: 00515494264 Page: 2 Date Filed: 07/17/2020