Guillen v. U.S. Attorney Gen. — 910 F.3d 1174 (2018) · United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · 2018

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · 2018-12-13

21usc841: author: Flash2 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md)

Original case on neochart.com

Case and law context

21 U.S.C. § 841

Role: comparator; posture: immigration removal (civil); petition for review of a BIA order finding a lawful permanent resident removable under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(B)(i) on Florida cocaine-possession convictions (Fla. Stat. § 893.13(6)(a)); the federal CSA is the generic comparator under the (modified) categorical approach, § 841(a)(1) itself only a drafting analogy; result: claimant-won; claim: (a)(1)

Uncertainty

opinion: body ends at "PETITION DENIED." (@33411); the three paragraphs @33411..34273 are the opinion's own footnotes appended by the IR, contiguous, so one span.

role: § 841(a)(1) is cited once, as a drafting analogy (both statutes use the general term "controlled substance"); the generic federal yardstick actually compared is the § 802(6) definition via 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(B)(i). Kept as comparator rather than background because the court does decide a modified-categorical comparison of a state drug offense to the federal CSA definition.

other: result — "claimant" follows the Moncrieffe file's convention: the Government is the side asserting the match to the federal definition, and it prevailed (petition denied).

Element x-categorical-match: polarity: the facts are the state statute's breadth and the Shepard record identifying the offense of conviction, not conduct proving a § 841 element.

Misfit

None recorded

B · Case × element grid

Top-level elements follow claim order in panels of up to six elements. Case rows repeat across panels. Every recorded block retains its holding and basis; multiple blocks are not merged into a case-level verdict. ✓ satisfied · ✗ not satisfied · ○ not reached · · not addressed. Muted blocks are not counted. Sub-element evidence remains on case and element pages.

Elements 1–6 of 18

21 U.S.C. § 841
CaseMens rea: "knowingly or intentionally" (including knowledge that the substance is a controlled substance)Controlled substance (21 U.S.C. §§ 802(6), 812 Schedules I-V) or counterfeit substance (§ 841(a)(2))Authorization exception ("Except as authorized by this subchapter") for registered practitioners/handlersPossession (actual, constructive, sole, or joint dominion and control)Specific intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense the possessed controlled substancePartial penalty-tier drug type and quantity table (selected § 841(b)(1)(A)-(D) hook)
Guillen v. U.S. Attorney Gen. — 910 F.3d 1174 (2018) · United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · 2018 (21usc841: author: Flash2 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md))· not addressed· not addressed· not addressed· not addressed· not addressed· not addressed

Elements 7–12 of 18

21 U.S.C. § 841
CaseDeath or serious bodily injury results from the use of such substance (§ 841(b)(1)(A)-(C) 20-year mandatory minimum)Recidivist enhancement for prior conviction for a serious drug felony or serious violent felony (§ 841(b)(1), 21 U.S.C. § 851)Prohibited act under § 841(a)(1): manufacture, distribute, or dispenseCross-statute route alias: see separate aiding-abetting (§ 2) and x-conspiracy-846 (§ 846) routesAiding and abetting route under 18 U.S.C. § 2 (cross-statute)Categorical / modified categorical comparison of state drug offense to 21 U.S.C. § 841 (INA / ACCA / Guidelines)
Guillen v. U.S. Attorney Gen. — 910 F.3d 1174 (2018) · United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · 2018 (21usc841: author: Flash2 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md))· not addressed· not addressed· not addressed· not addressed· not addressed
✓ satisfied · lawNot counted: comparator/merits

Elements 13–18 of 18

21 U.S.C. § 841
CaseDrug conspiracy route under 21 U.S.C. § 846 (cross-statute)Fifth Amendment Due Process / Equal Protection challenge to carrier-medium weight sentencing (Chapman)Affirmative defense of entrapment (government inducement + lack of predisposition)Rule of lenity in construing ambiguous penalty provisions of § 841(b)Fifth Amendment void-for-vagueness challenge to "mixture or substance" or analogue provisionsContinuing-offense venue for § 841(a)(1) possession with intent to distribute / distribution (18 U.S.C. § 3237(a))
Guillen v. U.S. Attorney Gen. — 910 F.3d 1174 (2018) · United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · 2018 (21usc841: author: Flash2 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md))· not addressed· not addressed· not addressed· not addressed· not addressed· not addressed

Instances and excluded annotation blocks

Annotation blocks, including explicitly excluded context
CaseElementHolding and scopePatternExact source quotations
Guillen v. U.S. Attorney Gen. — 910 F.3d 1174 (2018) · United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit · 2018 — satisfied · law (21usc841: author: Flash2 · QA: FIX (Fable, neov2/cases/TRIAGE-Flash.md))Categorical / modified categorical comparison of state drug offense to 21 U.S.C. § 841 (INA / ACCA / Guidelines)satisfied
Excluded from merits counts
comparator / merits

basis: law; claim: (a)(1)

Not a categorical match (Florida's schedules are broader, undisputed), but Fla. Stat. § 893.13(6)(a) is divisible by the identity of the substance; under the modified categorical approach the conviction records show cocaine, a federally scheduled substance, so the convictions "relat[e] to a controlled substance" as defined in 21 U.S.C. § 802. The comparison is to the § 802(6) definition, not to the elements of § 841(a)(1).
divisible-state-drug-schedule-matches-federal
The Florida controlled substance schedules undeniably are broader than the definition of "controlled substance" under federal law.
Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_910.jsonl#/f3d/910/1174-01; Unicode character offsets [10858:10988] (end exclusive); SHA-256 0bd3b4a61335f502649efbd5ed1e34c70281500a9d907b47b404145b85f2c0fd.

Evidence kind: fact; polarity: cuts-against; absent flag: 0; quoted-rule flag: 0 (1 = tagged; 0 = not tagged)

Each relevant criminal information specifically identified the substance involved in Guillen's offenses, and they report that Guillen was charged with "unlawfully and feloniously possess[ing] a controlled substance, to-wit: Cocaine."
Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_910.jsonl#/f3d/910/1174-01; Unicode character offsets [32735:32968] (end exclusive); SHA-256 0bd3b4a61335f502649efbd5ed1e34c70281500a9d907b47b404145b85f2c0fd.

Evidence kind: fact; polarity: supports; absent flag: 0; quoted-rule flag: 0 (1 = tagged; 0 = not tagged)

The modified categorical approach applies when a statute is "divisible," that is, "when it lists a number of alternative elements that effectively create several different crimes."
Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_910.jsonl#/f3d/910/1174-01; Unicode character offsets [13941:14121] (end exclusive); SHA-256 0bd3b4a61335f502649efbd5ed1e34c70281500a9d907b47b404145b85f2c0fd.

Evidence kind: rule; polarity: not recorded; absent flag: 0; quoted-rule flag: 1 (1 = tagged; 0 = not tagged)

We hold that the Board was correct in concluding that the statute is divisible and in finding that Guillen's convictions for possession of cocaine relate to a controlled substance as defined by federal law.
Source: docroot/ir/caselaw/f3d_910.jsonl#/f3d/910/1174-01; Unicode character offsets [11216:11422] (end exclusive); SHA-256 0bd3b4a61335f502649efbd5ed1e34c70281500a9d907b47b404145b85f2c0fd.

Evidence kind: held; polarity: not recorded; absent flag: 0; quoted-rule flag: 0 (1 = tagged; 0 = not tagged)

Court interpretations recorded from this case