Jimenez Rice v. Holder, ___ F.3d ___, 2010 WL 669262 (9th Cir. Feb. 26, 2010) (California conviction of being under the influence of a controlled substance, in violation of Health & Safety Code 11550(a), that was expunged under Penal Code 1203.4(a), no longer constituted a conviction for purposes of establishing a statutory bar to showing Good Moral Character, under INA 101(f)(3), 8 U.S.C. 1101(f)(3)), following Lujan-Armendariz v. INS, 222 F.3d 728 (9th Cir. 2000) and Cardenas-Uriarte v. INS, 227 F.3d 1132 (9th Cir. 2000).

Note: This decision does not properly stand for the proposition that the conduct underlying the expunged conviction cannot be considered in the discretionary Good Moral Character decision, merely that the expunged conviction itself cannot be considered. Immigration counsel can argue that the conviction itself is completely barred, and if the government wants to rely on the underlying conduct as a negative discretionary factor, it must prove it by some means independent of the expunged conviction, which has completely ceased to exist not only for immigration purposes, but for all purposes. See 18 U.S.C. 3607(b)("A disposition under subsection (a), or a conviction that is the subject of an expungement order under subsection (c), shall not be considered a conviction for the purpose of a disqualification or a disability imposed by law upon conviction of a crime, or for any other purpose." [emphasis supplied]).