Whether a state conviction for marijuana distribution is an aggravated felony when the offense covers sharing a small amount without payment.
Holding
No. Because the Georgia offense covers conduct that federal law punishes as a misdemeanor, Moncrieffe’s conviction does not establish an aggravated felony.
Reasoning
The Court used the categorical approach: it compared the conduct covered by the state offense with the conduct punishable as a federal felony, rather than deciding what Moncrieffe actually did. A state conviction qualifies only if the offense necessarily involves conduct that would be a felony under the federal Controlled Substances Act.
Federal law generally punishes marijuana distribution as a felony, but it treats distribution of a small amount without payment as misdemeanor possession. That rule affects the punishment for the conduct; it cannot be ignored merely because it operates as a mitigating exception under federal law.
Georgia’s offense required neither payment nor a minimum quantity of marijuana. A person could therefore be convicted under it for the small-scale, unpaid sharing that federal law treats as a misdemeanor. The state conviction alone could not establish the federal felony required for an aggravated felony.
Moncrieffe remained removable for a controlled-substance conviction. But because that conviction did not establish an aggravated felony, it did not automatically disqualify him from seeking discretionary relief from removal.