John Merced Lozano v. United States

In 2022, the people of Missouri amended their Constitution to legalize marijuana and command that prior nonviolent marijuana convictions “shall be vacated as legally invalid,” restoring the person “to the status the person occupied prior to such arrest, plea, or conviction and as if such event had never taken place.” Under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, state convictions affect sentencing for federal convictions, but not when they have been “expunged.” The questions presented are: I. Whether a state conviction that the people of the state have vacated as legally invalid is “expunged” under U.S.S.G. § 4A1.2(j). II. Whether Stinson v. United States, 508 U.S. 36 (1993), still correctly states the rule for the deference that courts must give the commentary to the Sentencing Guidelines.