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liabilitystatutetestimonypleafelony
statutehearingtestimonyfelony

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Rodriguez-Gamboa; U.S. v.

Facts

Francisca Rodriguez-Gamboa, a native and citizen of Mexico, was removed from the United States in 2017 due to an aggravated felony conviction for possession for sale of methamphetamine under California law. After reentering the U.S. without inspection, she was charged in 2018 with illegal reentry. Initially pleading guilty, Rodriguez later sought to withdraw her plea based on a prior Ninth Circuit ruling that found California's statute overbroad due to its inclusion of geometric isomers.

In 2017, Francisca Rodriguez-Gamboa, a native and citizen of Mexico, was removed because of an "aggravated felony" convictionpossession for sale of methamphetamine in violation of California Health & Safety Code 11378. Rodriguez later reentered the United States without inspection. In 2018, she was charged in a criminal complaint with illegal reentry in violation of 8 U.S.C. 1326.

Issue

Whether California's definition of methamphetamine, which includes geometric isomers, is overbroad compared to the federal definition under the Controlled Substances Act, and whether this affects the legality of Rodriguez's reentry charge.

The ultimate legal issue is whether the factual impossibility of a state statute being applied more broadly than a federal comparator means there is a categorical match between the two, even if the state statute is textually overbroad.

Rule

Under the categorical approach, a state statute is a categorical match to a federal offense only if it substantially corresponds to or is narrower than the federal definition. A finding of overbreadth requires a realistic probability that the state would apply its statute to conduct that falls outside the generic definition of a crime.

"Under the categorical approach, we compare the elements of the crime to the generic" federal offense. Hernandez-Gonzalez v. Holder, 778 F.3d 793, 801 (9th Cir. 2015) (cleaned up). A conviction under a state statute is a categorical match only "if the state statuteregardless of its 'exact definition or label'gsubstantially corresponds' to or is narrower than" the generic federal offense. Quarles v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 1872, 1877, 204 L. Ed. 2d 200 (2019) (quoting Taylor, 495 U.S. at 599, 602).

Analysis

The court applied the categorical approach and noted that while California law includes both optical and geometric isomers of methamphetamine, expert testimony established that geometric isomers do not exist. Therefore, the court concluded that there was no realistic probability of Rodriguez facing liability under California law for possession of geometric isomers, making the state law a categorical match to the federal law.

But we face an unusual situation today. At our request, the district court conducted an evidentiary hearing and, after hearing unrebutted expert testimony, concluded that there is no such thing as a geometric isomer of methamphetamine. The Supreme Court has pointedly instructed that the categorical approach should not be applied in a legal vacuum and that a finding of overbreadth "requires a realistic probability, not a theoretical possibility, that the State would apply its statute to conduct that falls outside the generic definition of a crime." Gonzales v. Duenas-Alvarez, 549 U.S. 183, 193, 127 S. Ct. 815, 166 L. Ed. 2d 683 (2007).

Conclusion

The Ninth Circuit reversed the district court's dismissal of the information charging Rodriguez with illegal reentry, holding that California's definition of methamphetamine was a categorical match to the federal definition.

Judgment reversed and remanded.

Who won?

The United States prevailed in the case as the Ninth Circuit reversed the district court's dismissal, allowing the illegal reentry charge to proceed.

The United States prevailed in the case as the Ninth Circuit reversed the district court's dismissal, allowing the illegal reentry charge to proceed.

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