The Full Faith and Credit doctrine does not require the immigration courts to follow state definitions of what constitutes a "conviction" for immigration purposes. This issue is determined by reference to the statutory definition of conviction. 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(48)(A). Thus, the District Court for the Northern District of Texas rejected a claim that because Texas law did not consider a "deferred adjudication" to be a conviction, the Full Faith & Credit statute required the federal court to accept this state rule. Bui v. Ashcroft, 2003 WL 251929 at p. *3 (N.D. Tex. 2003) (Not Reported in F.Supp.2d).
jurisdiction:
Lower Courts of Fifth Circuit