United States v. Rodriguez , 157 F. App'x 665 ( 2005 )

United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT September 30, 2005
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
No. 04-40687
Conference Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Plaintiff - Appellee
v.
JOSE ALEXANDER ROMERO RODRIGUEZ,also known as Carlos Garcia
Defendant - Appellant
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. 1:02-CR-426-ALL
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ON REMAND FROM THE SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
Before KING, Chief Judge, and DeMOSS and CLEMENT, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
This court previously affirmed the sentence imposed
following Jose Alexander Romero Rodriguez’s resentencing. United
States v. Rodriguez, No. 04-40687 (5th Cir. Dec. 17, 2004)
(unpublished). The Supreme Court vacated and remanded for
further consideration in light of United States v. Booker, 125
S. Ct. 738 (2005). We requested and received supplemental letter
briefs addressing the impact of Booker.
*
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this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except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.
No.04-40687
-2-
Rodriguez argues that the district court erred by sentencing
him under a mandatory guidelines scheme. He contends that the
district court’s error is not subject to plain error review
because it is structural. He also asserts, based on the nature
of the error, that prejudice should be presumed. Rodriguez
concedes that his structural error and presumed prejudice
arguments are foreclosed and raises them simply to preserve
further review. See United States v. Malveaux, 411 F.3d 558, 561
n.9 (5th Cir. 2005), petition for cert. filed (July 11, 2005)
(No. 05-5297).
Because Rodriguez did not preserve his arguments before the
district court, plain error review applies. See United States v.
Mares, 402 F.3d 511, 520-21 (5th Cir. 2005), petition for cert.
filed (Mar. 31, 2005) (No. 04-9517). To establish plain error
under Mares, Rodriguez must demonstrate that the district court
would have reached a significantly different result had he been
sentenced under advisory guidelines. See Mares, 402 F.3d at 521.
As Rodriguez concedes, he cannot make this showing.
Booker does not affect our prior holding that Almendarez-
Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224 (1998), has not been
overruled. Accordingly, the we REINSTATE our prior decision and
judgment affirming the district court.