Tersero-Aguilar
United States v. Tersero-Aguilar
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM **
Amadeo Tersero-Aguilar appeals his conviction by guilty plea and sentence for being an illegal alien found in the United States following deportation.
Tersero-Aguilar contends that his sentencing enhancement pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1326 (b)(2) based on a prior aggravated felony not found by the jury is unconstitutional. To that end he argues that subsequent Supreme Court opinions have undercut the validity of Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224 , 118 S.Ct. 1219 , 140 L.Ed.2d 350 (1998), which held that the determination of a qualifying prior conviction is a “sentencing factor” to be found by the judge by a preponderance of the evidence at sentencing.
This contention is foreclosed. See United States v. Weiland, 420 F.3d 1062 , 1079 n. 16 (9th Cir.2005) (noting that we continue to be bound by the Supreme Court’s holding in Almendarez-Torres).
The conviction and sentence are therefore affirmed.
In accordance with United States v. Rivera-Sanchez, 222 F.3d 1057 (9th Cir.2000), we remand the case to the district court with instructions that it delete from the judgment, which currently identifies the offense statute as “8 U.S.C. 1326(a),(b)(2),” the…