Martinez v. Mukasey, 551 F.3d 113 (2d Cir. Dec. 18, 2008) ("The very basis of the categorical approach is that the sole ground for determining whether an immigrant was convicted of an aggravated felony is the minimum criminal conduct necessary to sustain a conviction under a given statute. Dalton, 257 F.3d at 204. This does not require Martinez to prove how little marihuana he had or the nature of the transfer, so long as his conviction could have been based on a nonremunerative transfer of a small amount of marihuana. Placing the burden on Martinez, instead, necessarily requires looking into evidence of Martinez's actual conduct, evidence that may never have been seen by the initial convicting court. It was the desire to avoid such particular inquiries-whether designed to show that a specific defendant was less or more culpable than what his actual conviction required-that led us and the Supreme Court to focus on categorical analysis." (emphasis in original)).

jurisdiction: 
Second Circuit

 

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