Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224 (1998), was a decision by the United States Supreme Court written by Justice Stephen Breyer which confirmed that a sentencing enhancement for a prior felony conviction was not subject to the Sixth Amendment requirement for a jury to determine the fact beyond a reasonable doubt.

In September 1995, Hugo Almendarez-Torres was indicted for being an alien "found in" the United States without the "permission and consent of the Attorney General" after being deported, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326.

At the sentencing hearing, Almendarez-Torres pointed out that the Sixth Amendment required that all the elements of a crime be spelled out in the indictment.

(a) Subject to subsection (b) of this section, any alien who— (1) has been... deported... and thereafter (2) enters... or at any time is found in the United States [without the consent of the Attorney General], shall be fined under title 18, or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.

If it defined a separate crime, then the Government's failure to include it in the indictment meant that the conviction and sentence had to be set aside.

Because of this historical pedigree, the Court could not find support in its modern precedents for the idea that it must be proved by the prosecution beyond a reasonable doubt.