USA v. Alexandro Gerandino-Aracena, No. 17-1142 (3d Cir. 2019)

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NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT ____________ No. 17-1142 ____________ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. ALEXANDRO GERANDINO-ARACENA, Appellant ____________ On Appeal from the District Court of the Virgin Islands Division of St. Thomas and St. John (D.C. No. 3-15-cr-00041-001) District Judge: Honorable Curtis V. Gomez ____________ Argued December 10, 2018 Before: CHAGARES, HARDIMAN, and RESTREPO, Circuit Judges. (Filed: March 21, 2019) Joseph A. DiRuzzo, III [ARGUED] DiRuzzo & Company 401 East Las Olas Boulevard Suite 1400 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301 Counsel for Appellant Joycelyn Hewlett Acting United States Attorney Sigrid M. Tejo-Sprotte [ARGUED] David W. White Assistant United States Attorneys Office of United States Attorney 5500 Veterans Drive, Suite 260 United States Courthouse St. Thomas, VI 00802 Counsel for Appellee ____________ OPINION* ____________ HARDIMAN, Circuit Judge. Alexandro Gerandino-Aracena appeals his judgment of conviction for federal drug trafficking and firearms possession offenses following a jury trial. His two arguments on appeal—that the District Judge presided over his case in violation of the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution and that he was entitled to a trial in an Article III court—are foreclosed by our opinion in United States v. Ayala, --- F.3d ---, 2019 WL 1051579 (3d Cir. Mar. 6, 2019). As we held in Ayala, “a judge of the District Court of the Virgin Islands may serve past the expiration of the term, until the President nominates and the Senate confirms a successor.” Id. at *4; see *4–5. And Article IV, Section 3 of the Constitution and statutory grants of jurisdiction empower the District Court of the Virgin Islands to adjudicate federal criminal offenses. Id. at *2–3. We will therefore affirm the judgment of conviction and sentence. * This disposition is not an opinion of the full Court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does not constitute binding precedent. 2

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