Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/14pdf/13-1034_3dq4.pdf
Page Number: 19

2 

MELLOULI v. LYNCH 

THOMAS, J., dissenting 

relating  to  a  controlled  substance  (as  defined  in  section
802  of  title  21).”  Thus,  Mellouli  was  properly  subject  to
removal  if  the  Kansas  statute  of  conviction  “relat[es]  to 
a  controlled  substance  (as  defined  in  section  802  of  title
21),”  regardless  of  whether  his  particular  conduct  would
also  have  subjected  him  to  prosecution  under  federal 
controlled-substances laws.  See ante, at 6 (“An alien’s actual 
conduct  is  irrelevant  to  the  inquiry”).    The  majority’s  12
references  to  the  sock  that  Mellouli  used  to  conceal  the 
pills are thus entirely beside the point.1 

The  critical  question,  which  the  majority  does  not  di- 
rectly answer, is what it means for a law or regulation to
“relat[e]  to  a  controlled  substance  (as  defined  in  section 
802 of title 21).”  At a minimum, we know that this phrase 
does not require a complete overlap between the substances
controlled  under  the  state  law  and  those  controlled  un-
der  21  U. S. C.  §802.    To  “relate  to”  means  “ ‘to  stand  in 
some relation; to have bearing or concern; to pertain; refer;
to  bring  into  association  with  or  connection  with.’ ”  Mo-
rales  v.  Trans  World  Airlines,  Inc.,  504  U. S.  374,  383 
(1992)  (quoting  Black’s  Law  Dictionary  1158  (5th  ed. 
1979)).  In  ordinary  parlance,  one  thing  can  “relate  to” 
another even if it also relates to other things.  As ordinar- 
ily  understood,  therefore,  a  state  law  regulating  various 
controlled  substances  may  “relat[e]  to  a  controlled  sub-
stance  (as  defined  in  section  802  of  title  21)”  even  if  the 
statute  also  controls  a  few  substances  that  do  not  fall 
within the federal definition. 

—————— 

1 It  is  likewise  beside  the  point  that  the  pills  were,  in  fact,  federally 
controlled  substances,  that  Mellouli  concealed  them  in  his  sock  while 
being booked into jail, that he was being booked into jail for his second
arrest  for  driving  under  the  influence  in  less  than  one  year,  that  he
pleaded to the paraphernalia offense after initially being charged with 
trafficking  contraband  in  jail,  or  that  he  has  since  been  charged  with
resisting  arrest  and  failure  to  display  a  valid  driver’s  license  upon
demand.