CA9 on Cal. Theft Offense, Agg. Fel. - Lopez-Valencia v. Lynch

"Adhering to the methodology established by Descamps and our follow-on opinion in Rendon v. Holder, 764 F.3d 1077 (9th Cir. 2014), we conclude that a conviction under California’s theft statute is not an aggravated felony because it is not a “theft offense” as defined by 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(G). To employ now-familiar legalese: a conviction for “theft” in California is categorically not a “generic theft offense” because it is both “overbroad” and “indivisible,” and thus not susceptible to the “modified categorical approach.” We grant Lopez-Valencia’s petition and remand to the Board of Immigration Appeals for further proceedings." - Lopez-Valencia v. Lynch, Aug. 17, 2015.

[Hats off to Jeremy Sanders (argued) and Kelly Schwartz (argued), Supervised Law Students under the supervision of Kari E. Hong, Boston College Law School, Ninth Circuit Appellate Project, Newton, Massachusetts!]