United States v. Bautista, No. 19-10448 (9th Cir. 2020)
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The Ninth Circuit reversed defendant's sentence for possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. Defendant contends that the district court erred in applying a recidivist sentencing enhancement based on his prior state conviction for attempted transportation of marijuana under Arizona Revised Statutes 13-3405(A)(4).
The panel held that the district court's application of the six-level recidivist enhancement was plain error. The Arizona statute under which defendant was convicted included hemp in its definition of marijuana. However, in 2018, before defendant's federal conviction, Congress amended the Controlled Substances Act to exclude hemp from its definition of a controlled substance. Therefore, in 2019, when defendant was sentenced, the Arizona statute under which he had been convicted was overbroad and that conviction no longer qualified as a "controlled substance offense" under the Guidelines. Furthermore, the error affected defendant's substantial rights and allowing the error to go uncorrected would seriously affect the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings. Accordingly, the panel remanded for resentencing.
Court Description: Criminal Law. In a case in which the defendant was convicted of possession of ammunition by a convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2), the panel reversed the district court’s application of a recidivist sentencing enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2(b), and remanded for resentencing. The district court applied the enhancement on the ground that the defendant’s prior state conviction for attempted transportation of marijuana under Arizona Revised Statutes § 13-3405(A)(4) qualified as a “controlled substance offense.” The Arizona statute under which the defendant was convicted included hemp in its definition of marijuana. In 2018, before the defendant’s federal conviction, Congress amended the Controlled Substances Act to exclude hemp from its definition of a controlled substance. Reviewing for plain error, the panel held that because the federal Controlled Substances Act in effect at the time of the defendant’s federal sentencing excluded hemp, the defendant’s Arizona conviction is facially overbroad and not a categorical match. The panel held that the district court therefore plainly erred in applying the § 4B1.2(b) enhancement. The panel concluded that the error affected the defendant’s substantial rights, and UNITED STATES V. BAUTISTA 3 if uncorrected would seriously affect the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on December 11, 2020.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on February 26, 2021.
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