Ewing v. California

Holding sentence of twenty-five years to life for theft of three golf clubs, valued at approximately $1200, was not violative of the Eighth Amendment, given defendant's prior felony convictions

McNeill v. U.S.

Holding "that a federal sentencing court must determine whether ‘an offense under State law’ is a ‘serious drug offense’ by consulting the ‘maximum term of imprisonment’ applicable to a defendant's previous drug offense at the time of the defendant's state conviction for that offense" (quoting § 924(e) )

Jordan v. De George

Holding that defrauding the United States of tax on distilled spirits is a serious crime involving moral turpitude

United States v. Diaz

Holding "that California's Proposition 47, offering post-conviction relief by reclassifying certain past felony convictions as misdemeanors, does not undermine a prior conviction's felony-status for purposes of" a federal sentencing enhancement based on those prior convictions

Ceron v. Holder

Holding that a sentence "not exceeding one year" is a sentence that likewise falls within the meaning of the phrase "one year or longer"

Vasquez v. United States

Section 841 - Prohibited acts A

In § 841 prosecutions, then, it is the fact that the doctor issued an unauthorized prescription that renders his or her conduct wrongful, not the fact of the dispensation itself.

Section 924 - Penalties

Holding that conviction for eluding police, under Maine statute which provides that "[w]hoever, after being requested or signaled to stop, attempts to elude a law enforcement officer by driving a vehicle at a reckless rate of speed which results in a high-speed chase between the operator's vehicle and any law enforcement vehicle using a blue light and siren is guilty" of a felony-level crime, involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another for purposes of 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)

Section 1101 - Definitions

Finding notice and comment rulemaking is required for the agency's interim rule recognizing fear of coercive family practices as basis for refugee status

Section 1182 - Inadmissible aliens

Holding deportable aliens who have been convicted of "crimes involving moral turpitude"

Section 1227 - Deportable aliens

Granting this discretion to the Attorney General

Section 1229b - Cancellation of removal; adjustment of status

Granting the Attorney General discretion to cancel the removal of an alien who has “been battered or subjected to extreme cruelty by a ... parent who is ... a United States citizen”

Section 18.5 - Imprisonment for misdemeanors

Section 1240.8 - Burdens of proof in removal proceedings

Applying "clearly and beyond doubt" burden to "proceedings commenced upon a respondent's arrival" or "[a]liens present in the United States without being admitted"