Alvarado v. Holder, Jr.

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Petitioner pled guilty to attempted possession of a dangerous drug, in violation of Arizona Revised Statute 13-3407(A)(1), and was found removable as an alien convicted of a violation of state law relating to a controlled substance. The court concluded that it was jurisdictionally barred from reaching the merits of petitioner's claim that the Arizona definition of attempt is categorically broader than the federal generic definition because he failed to exhaust this argument before the BIA. The court rejected petitioner's argument that the controlled substance at issue in his Arizona conviction cannot be established by applying the modified categorical approach. The court was confident based on circumstantial evidence that, although it could not consider the indictment because the original count as originally charged was dismissed and he had pled to a lesser charge in a modified count, a page describing the substance of methamphetamine was specifically incorporated into the plea agreement as the factual basis for petitioner's guilty plea. Accordingly, the court denied in part and dismissed in part. View "Alvarado v. Holder, Jr." on Justia Law