Eleazar Diaz-Balleza v. United States

Whether the existence of a pre-removal felony conviction under 8 U.S.C. § 1326(b) is an element of an enhanced offense that must be proven to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt or admitted during a defendant’s guilty plea. DIRECTLY RELATED PROCEEDINGS United States v. Diaz-Balleza, No. 4:24-cr-49 (N.D. Tex. Jun. 28, 2024) United States v. Diaz-Balleza, No. 24-10597 (5th Cir. Mar. 14, 2025) TABLE OF CONTENTS Question Presented...................................................................................................... ii Directly Related Proceedings ...................................................................................... ii Table of Authorities .................................................................................................... iii Opinions Below ............................................................................................................ 1 Jurisdiction .................................................................................................................. 1 Statutory Provisions Involved ..................................................................................... 2 Constitutional and Statutory Provisions Involved ..................................................... 2 Statement ..................................................................................................................... 4 Reasons for Granting the Petition .............................................................................. 5 I. THE COURT SHOULD OVERRULE ALMENDAREZTORRES................................................................................................................ 5 A. Multiple members of the Court recognize that Almendarez-Torres was wrongly decided. .................................................... 5 B. This Court has undermined the decisions upon which Almendarez-Torres relied for its constitutional holding. ............................. 7 C. At the Founding, recidivism was no different than any other element of an aggravated crime. ......................................................... 8