Cameron Taevon Jones v. United States
SocialSecurity Securities
Does the term 'controlled substance offense' as defined in the Guidelines include offenses under state law that are not categorical matches under federal law?
QUESTION PRESENTED FOR REVIEW Petitioner was convicted of felon-in-possession of a firearm. Instead of facing a Guidelines range of 46-57 months, his range was calculated at 70-87 months because of a prior state court drug offense. Under USSG § 4B1.2(b) the term “controlled substance offense” is a defined term. There is a circuit split whether “controlled substance offense” is limited to substances controlled under federal law. The Second, Fifth, and Ninth Circuits have held that it is so limited. In contrast, the Fourth, Seventh, and Eighth Circuits have concluded a state conviction may qualify when the state statute of conviction controls substances not also controlled under federal law. The Tenth Circuit did not reach the question in this case because it deemed the presumed error harmless. The question presented is: does the term “controlled substance offense” as defined in the Guidelines include offenses under state law that are not categorical matches under federal law? i