Chevron U.S.A. v. Natural Res. Def. Council

Holding that courts "must give effect to the unambiguously expressed intent of Congress"

Shepard v. U.S.

Holding that when conducting certain inquires related to prior convictions courts are limited to certain judicial record evidence-charging instruments, terms of a plea agreement, or "transcript of colloquy between judge and defendant in which the factual basis for the plea was confirmed by the defendant, or to some comparable judicial record"

Moncrieffe v. Holder

Holding that sharing marijuana not an aggravated felony

Nijhawan v. Holder

Holding that a statute requires "a circumstance-specific approach" where it refers to "conduct involved 'in' the commission of the offense of conviction, rather than to the elements of the offense"

Rojas v. Attorney Gen. of the U.S.

Holding that to be removable under 8 U.S.C. § 1227(B), the statute of conviction must be under a law relating to a controlled substance, and involve a drug defined in the Controlled Substances Act

Bianco v. Holder

In Bianco, however, the panel relied substantially on the Supreme Court's circumstance-specific approach in Hayes, which happened also to apply a circumstance-specific approach in evaluating the generic federal crime of domestic violence.

Mellouli v. Holder

Applying the circumstance-specific approach to the personal-use exception

Varughese v. Holder

Relying on petitioner's admission during a plea colloquy and a sentencing hearing

Popescu–Mateffy v. Holder

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 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"

Section 1212.7 - Waiver of certain grounds of inadmissibility

Applying the same standard to waivers under 8 U.S.C. § 1182(h)