Source: cases/21usc841/f3d-925-1036-us-v-graves.case
Case source: https://www.neochart.com/catalog/cases/f3d/volume_925/1036_01/index.html
We conclude, therefore, that California Penal Code § 4573.6 is not a divisible statute and therefore cannot be a categorical "felony drug offense" triggering a "mandatory term of life imprisonment" under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A) (2016).
casedsl 1.2 # author: Flash2 (gemini-3.8-flash-high) # triaged-by: Fable (2026-11-10) case /f3d/925/1036-01 name United States v. Graves cite 925 F.3d 1036 (2019) court United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit date 2019-05-30 url catalog/cases/f3d/volume_925/1036_01/index.html source ir/caselaw/f3d_925.jsonl sha1=e6c4b6fb2d0b7cef9859d609cd0955bd432f7fdc chars=12100 opinion maj : majority by Clifton @0..12100 controlling ? opinion: the three paragraphs @10538..12100 are the opinion's own footnotes appended by the IR; one span. ? other: result is for the only § 841 question this opinion decides (the Government's recidivist enhancement fails); the underlying convictions were affirmed in a separate, unpublished disposition not in this record. law 21usc841 (b)(1)(A) role applied posture criminal sentencing appeal; mandatory life sentence under 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(b)(1)(A) and 851 based on two prior "felony drug offense" convictions; defendant challenges whether a California Penal Code § 4573.6 (inmate drug possession) conviction qualifies under the categorical approach; sentence vacated and remanded (convictions affirmed in a separate memorandum disposition) result claimant-lost element prior-conviction : not-satisfied [law] route _whole pattern overbroad-state-statute-disqualifies-enhancement fact @1077..1171 [neutral] | One prior conviction was for inmate drug possession, violating California Penal Code § 4573.6. fact @3314..3480 [cuts-against] | There is no dispute that section 4573.6 criminalizes controlled substances under California law that are not regulated under federal law, so the statute is overbroad. fact @6632..6829 [cuts-against] | Second, a California state court has explicitly held that contemporaneous possession of two or more discrete controlled substances at the same location constitutes one offense under section 4573.6. rule @3608..3761 [quoted] | "[I]f a statute is both overbroad and indivisible, a prior conviction under that statute will never qualify as a predicate drug trafficking offense ...." held @9106..9342 | We conclude, therefore, that California Penal Code § 4573.6 is not a divisible statute and therefore cannot be a categorical "felony drug offense" triggering a "mandatory term of life imprisonment" under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A) (2016). gloss Sentence under § 841(b)(1)(A) vacated: California Penal Code § 4573.6 is overbroad relative to the federal schedules (undisputed) and indivisible as to the type of controlled substance (plain text, People v. Rouser, contrast with the Health and Safety Code), so a conviction under it cannot be a predicate "felony drug offense" for the mandatory-life enhancement. ? route: no menu route for "state predicate tested by the categorical approach / divisibility"; `_whole` used. ? polarity: the "facts" are the identity and legal breadth of the prior offense, which is all the categorical approach looks at.