In 2002, Reymundo Toledo-Flores, who came to the United States from Mexico, was charged and convicted of possession of cocaine in Texas. Subsequently, in March of 2004, Toledo-Flores was convicted of entering the United States illegally. In Texas, Toledo-Flores' drug charges were considered a felony. However, under the federal Controlled Substances Act, possession of cocaine is considered a misdemeanor.
When Toledo-Flores was sentenced for entering the United States illegally, the court revisited his prior cocaine possessions conviction and re-classified it, citing Federal Sentencing Guidelines, as an aggravated felony which increased his mandatory sentence from a maximum of 24 months to a maximum of 48 months. Because Toledo-Flores had already served his time in prison for this crime, this decision would force Toledo-Flores back into prison.
Toledo-Flores appealed to the court with the argument that the previous court had mistakenly classified his drug related crime as an aggravated felony because under federal law it is considered a misdemeanor. Under federal law the sale and distribution of illegal drugs can be considered an aggravated felony, however Toledo-Flores was charged with possession of the illegal substances, not sales or distribution. It was then up to the court to determine whether or not Toledo-Flores' drug related offense, considered a state felony but a federal misdemeanor would meet the requirements of the federal definition of 'aggravated felony'.
The decision of the court in the Toledo-Flores v. United States case was in Toledo-Flores' favor, citing that this crime, considered a felony at the state level but a misdemeanor at the federal level does not meet the requirements of a felony or aggravated felony under the Controlled Substances Act and therefore cannot be deemed punishable as such.
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