5th Circuit on Shepard and prior convictions

In yet another case highlighting possible disputes over the nature and scope of a defendant’s criminal history (such as this 10th Circuit decision from earlier this week), the Fifth Circuit in US v. Gutierrez-Ramirez, No. 04-41742 (5th Cir. Apr. 5, 2005) (available here) reversed a district court application of a guideline enhancement based on a prior conviction for a “drug trafficking offense.”  The Court held that “the district court erred in using a California abstract of judgment to determine whether the defendant’s prior California conviction qualified as a ‘drug trafficking offense.'”  Along the way, the Fifth Circuit has a chance to discuss Shepard and Booker and a number of circuit precedents struggling with these sorts of questions.