9th Cir.;
15-50471

The court of appeals vacated a judgment of sentence and remanded. The court held that the record of defendant's prior California conviction was insufficient to support a finding that the conviction qualified as a “felony drug offense” under federal law.

Luis Ocampo-Estrada was convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§841(a)(1) and 846. Based on Ocampo's prior California conviction under Cal. Penal Code §11378, which prohibits the possession for sale of certain controlled substances, including methamphetamine, the district court determined that Ocampo had been convicted of a “felony drug offense” under 21 U.S.C. §841(b)(1)(A), thereby triggering a twenty-year mandatory minimum sentence.