Opinion ID: 780904
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: En Banc Developments

Text: 20 Despite the inconsistencies between Robles-Rodriguez, on the one hand, and Garcia-Olmedo and Zarate-Martinez, on the other, we can resolve this case rather simply. Garcia-Olmedo and Zarate-Martinez are no longer good law. 21 In United States v. Corona-Sanchez, 291 F.3d 1201 (9th Cir.2002) (en banc), the court sitting en banc implicitly overruled those decisions by removing one of their essential premises. In Corona-Sanchez we held that, when evaluating whether an offense is punishable as an aggravated felony for purposes of U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2, courts must consider the sentence available for the crime itself, without considering separate recidivist sentencing enhancements. Id. at 1209. Thus, in evaluating the defendant's second conviction for petty theft, an offense for which the defendant received a two-year sentence pursuant to a recidivist statute, we treated the conviction as though it were the defendant's first. Id. at 1208-09. Because the maximum penalty under state law for a first-time petty theft offense was imprisonment for six months, we held, the defendant's second conviction was not for a felony under state law or an aggravated felony for purposes of § 2L1.2. Id. at 1210. 22 In Arellano-Torres, 303 F.3d at 1178, we extended the reach of Corona-Sanchez to the federal drug-possession statute, 21 U.S.C. § 844(a). Although a second or third conviction for possession of a controlled substance is punishable under § 844(a) by a maximum term of two or three years, respectively, this enhancement for recidivism does not mean that the second or third offense qualifies as an aggravated felony. Arellano-Torres, 303 F.3d at 1178. Rather, a court evaluating those offenses for purposes of U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(C) must disregard § 844's penalties for repeat offenders and treat second and third offenses as if they were a defendant's first. Id. The maximum sentence for a first-time conviction under 21 U.S.C. § 844(a) is one year of imprisonment. Therefore, under the analysis set forth in Arellano-Torres, even second and third federal convictions for possession of marijuana are not felonies or aggravated felonies. 23 In summary, under the combined force of Robles-Rodriguez and Arellano-Torres, Defendant's second conviction for possession of marijuana is not a felony. A first conviction is punishable under federal law only by a term of imprisonment of not more than 1 year. 21 U.S.C. § 844(a). A first-time conviction for simple drug possession under Arizona law is not punishable by any term of imprisonment. Ariz. Rev.Stat. § 13-901.01(A), (E); Calik v. Kongable, 195 Ariz. 496, 990 P.2d 1055, 1060 (1999). Accordingly, Defendant's conviction is not punishable under applicable state or federal law by more than one year's imprisonment and is, thus, neither a felony for purposes of the Controlled Substances Act nor a drug trafficking crime for purposes of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(2) and 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(B). Arellano-Torres, 303 F.3d at 1178; Robles-Rodriguez, 281 F.3d at 904. In the circumstances, the district court was correct in holding that Defendant's second Arizona conviction for possession of marijuana is not an aggravated felony for purposes of U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(C). 24 AFFIRMED.