United States v. Hector Morales-Cardenas ( 2018 )

Case: 16-41206 Document: 00514560031 Page: 1 Date Filed: 07/18/2018
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
No. 16-41206 FILED
Conference Calendar July 18, 2018
Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee
v.
HECTOR RUBEN MORALES-CARDENAS,
Defendant - Appellant
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. 1:15-CR-1113-1
ON REMAND FROM THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
Before JOLLY and SOUTHWICK, Circuit Judges.*
PER CURIAM:**
Hector Ruben Morales-Cardenas was convicted of illegal reentry after
removal in violation of 8 U.S.C. §§ 1326(a) and (b)(1). He received a sentencing
enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2 based on a prior Texas felony conviction
* Due to Judge Edward Prado’s retirement on April 2, 2018, this matter is being
decided by a quorum. See 28 U.S.C. § 26(d).
** 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 R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH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.
Case: 16-41206 Document: 00514560031 Page: 2 Date Filed: 07/18/2018
No. 16-41206
for evading arrest with a motor vehicle. On appeal, he acknowledged that his
constitutional vagueness challenge to 18 U.S.C. § 16(b) was foreclosed by our
precedent. See United States v. Gonzalez-Longoria, 831 F.3d 670, 672 (5th Cir.
2016) (en banc), abrogated by Sessions v. Dimaya, 138 S. Ct. 1204 (2018). We
granted his motion for summary disposition and affirmed the district court’s
judgment. United States v. Morales-Cardenas, 677 F. App’x 200, 201 (5th Cir.
2017). The Supreme Court granted certiorari, vacated the judgment, and
remanded the case for further consideration in light of Dimaya.
The parties have submitted a joint supplemental letter brief addressing
the action we should take on remand. The parties agree that we have already
held that Section 16(b) “remains incorporated into the advisory-only
Guidelines for definitional purposes.” United States v. Godoy, 890 F.3d 531,
540 (5th Cir. 2018). They also jointly acknowledge our precedent holding that
the Texas felony of evading arrest with a motor vehicle satisfies Section 16(b).
See United States v. Sanchez-Ledezma, 630 F.3d 447, 450–51 (5th Cir. 2011).
Accordingly, Morales-Cardenas’s argument that his sentencing enhancement
was erroneously imposed remains foreclosed by our precedent.
AFFIRMED.
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