12/27/19: geometric isomers of methamphetamine?

In United States v. Rodriguez-Gamboa, --- F.3d ---, No. 19-50014 (9th Cir. 2019), the Court once again confronted the difference between the federal definition of methamphetamine and California's definition.  (this was previously addressed in the now withdrawn Lorenzo opinion).

The relevant federal statute defines methamphetamine as including only methamphetamine and its optical isomer, while California law defines methamphetamine as including its geometric and optical isomers.

This is important because it would seem to make California methamphetamine convictions overbroad such that they could not generally serve as predicate convictions for federal law. 

BUT, "the government contends that this apparent difference is illusory because there is no such thing as a geometric isomer of methamphetamine."

Here, the Court did not resolve the factual issue but remanded to the district court for an evidentiary hearing.

So stayed tuned on this important issue.

The opinion also has some good language on withdrawing a guilty plea:

• The district court may allow a guilty plea to be withdrawn if “the defendant can show a fair and just reason for requesting the withdrawal.” Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(d)(2)(B). A fair and just reason includes “intervening circumstances, or any other reason for withdrawing the plea that did not exist when the defendant entered his plea.”  A change in the law can justify withdrawal of a plea.