Case Explained: Justin Thomas Morales v. United States of America

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Filed: 2026-08-10 The eighth-circuit affirmed the district court’s denial of relief on a motion filed under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, rejecting the appellant’s claim of ineffective assistance of counsel at sentencing. The appellant argued his counsel was deficient for failing to contend that his prior Kansas conviction did not qualify as a “felony drug offense” under 21 U.S.C. § 802(44), which would have precluded enhanced punishment under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A). The court applied the categorical and modified categorical approaches to analyze the divisibility of the Kansas statute (Kan. Stat. Ann. § 65-4162(a)). Citing *Mathis v. United States* and *Rincon v. Garland*, the court determined that drug type was an essential element of the offense under Kansas law, rendering the statute divisible. Because the appellant’s prior conviction for possession of marijuana qualified as a felony drug offense, his counsel was not ineffective for failing to challenge the enhancement, and the performance was objectively reasonable given the unsettled nature of the law at the time. Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.