⚖ Oral Arguments, with Context

Javier Hernandez Ortiz is challenging an immigration ruling that treats his North Carolina drug-paraphernalia conviction as a bar to cancellation of removal. That relief can allow an eligible person to remain in the United States despite being subject to removal. The Fourth Circuit must decide whether his conviction relates to a federally controlled substance, and whether it can consult records from his criminal case to answer that question. The categorical approach compares the legal elements of the state offense with the federal definition, rather than retrying what the person actually did. A statute is divisible if it defines separate crimes through alternative elements. For a divisible statute, the modified categorical approach permits consulting a limited set of conviction records to identify which crime was proved or admitted. Elements are legal requirements; means are different ways of satisfying the same requirement, on which jurors need not agree.

Javier Hernandez Ortiz v. Todd Blanche (No. 25-1379) — U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, argued September 16, 2026.