(Download) "Almendarez-Torres V. United States" by United States Supreme Court # Book PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Almendarez-Torres V. United States
- Author : United States Supreme Court
- Release Date : January 24, 1998
- Genre: Law,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 98 KB
Description
Title 8 U. S. C. Section 1326(a) makes it a crime for a deported alien to return to the United States without special permission and authorizes a maximum prison term of two years. In 1988, Congress added subsection (b)(2), which authorizes a maximum prison term of 20 years for "any alien described" in subsection (a), if the initial "deportation was subsequent to a conviction for commission of an aggravated felony." Petitioner pleaded guilty to violating Section 1326, admitting that he had been deported, that he had unlawfully returned, and that the earlier deportation had taken place pursuant to three convictions for aggravated felonies. The District Court sentenced him under the applicable Sentencing Guideline range to 85 months' imprisonment, rejecting his argument that, since his indictment failed to mention his aggravated felony convictions, the court could not sentence him to more than the maximum imprisonment authorized by Section 1326(a). The Fifth Circuit also rejected his argument, holding that subsection (b)(2) is a penalty provision which simply permits the imposition of a higher sentence when the unlawfully returning alien also has a record of prior convictions.