INADMISSIBILITY - ALIEN SMUGGLING - WAIVER ALIEN SMUGGLING - GOOD MORAL CHARACTER
Sanchez v. Holder, 560 F.3d 1028 (9th Cir. Mar. 26, 2009) (en banc) (family-only alien smuggling is sufficient to demonstrate a lack of good moral character), overruling Moran v. Ashcroft, 395 F.3d 1089 (9th Cir.2005).
POST CON RELIEF - STATE REHABILITATIVE RELIEF - CONVICTION EXPUNGED UNDER STATE LAW CONTINUED TO EXIST BECAUSE DEFENDANT VIOLATED PROBATION AND WOULD THUS WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN ELIGIBLE TO OBTAIN FEDERAL FIRST OFFENDER ACT EXPUNGEMENT
Estrada v. Holder, 560 F.3d 1039 (9th Cir. Mar. 26, 2009) (a noncitizen whose state conviction for possession of drug paraphernalia was expunged under state law, but who violated the terms of his probation before expungement was granted, would not have been eligible for relief under the Federal First Offender Act (FFOA), 18 U.S.C. 3607(a), since the FFOA expressly limits relief to cases where "the person has not violated a condition of his probation"; state expungement therefore did not eliminate the conviction for immigration purposes).
AGGRAVATED FELONY - RETROACTIVITY
Although the Ninth Circuit held that only convictions after November 18, 1988, the effective date of the ADAA, could be considered aggravated felonies, see Ayala-Chavez v. INS, 945 F.2d 288 (9th Cir.1991), Congress effectively overruled that decision when it passed the Miscellaneous and Technical Immigration and Naturalization Amendments of 1991, Pub.L. No. 102-232 (December 12, 1991) amending the Immigration Act of 1990, Pub.L. No. 101-649 (November 29, 1990). These Amendments provided, among other things, that convictions before 1988 could also qualify as aggravated felonies. 105 Stat.
IMMIGRATION OFFENSES - VISA FRAUD - ELEMENTS
United States v. Krstic, ___ F.3d ___ (9th Cir. Mar. 10, 2009) (8 U.S.C. 1546(a) does not require proof of an already forged, counterfeited, altered, or falsely made immigration document).
POST CON RELIEF - SENTENCE - GROUNDS - DOUBLE JEOPARDY
United States v. Brobst, 558 F.3d 982 (9th Cir. Mar. 9, 2009) (vacating sentence, where concurrent sentences for child pornography possession and receipt violated the Double Jeopardy Clause).
POST CON RELIEF - GROUNDS - INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL
United States v. Griffy, 895 F.2d 561, 562 (9th Cir. Feb. 1, 1990) (indigent appellant entitled to counsel who acts as an active advocate).
CRIME OF MORAL TURPITUDE - DEFINITION
Marmolejo-Campos v. Holder, 558 F.3d 903 (9th Cir. Mar. 4, 2009) (en banc) (no deference owed to BIA interpretations of criminal statutes or BIA examination of the record of conviction), citing Cuevas-Gaspar v. Gonzales, 430 F.3d 1013, 1017 (9th Cir. 2005).
NOTE: Arguably, this may be interpreted to mean that the Ninth Circuit does not owe deference the method of analysis applied in Matter of Silva-Trevino, 24 I. & N. Dec. 687 (A.G. 2008).
JUDICIAL REVIEW - DEFERENCE - CRIMINAL STATUTES
Marmolejo-Campos v. Holder, 558 F.3d 903 (9th Cir. Mar. 4, 2009) (en banc) (no deference owed to BIA interpretations of criminal statutes or BIA examination of the record of conviction), citing Cuevas-Gaspar v. Gonzales, 430 F.3d 1013, 1017 (9th Cir. 2005). NOTE: Arguably, this may be interpreted to mean that the Ninth Circuit does not owe deference the method of analysis applied in Matter of Silva-Trevino, 24 I. & N. Dec. 687 (A.G. 2008).
CRIME OF MORAL TURPITUDE - DEFINITION
Marmolejo-Campos v. Holder, 558 F.3d 903 (9th Cir. Mar. 4, 2009) (en banc) (no deference owed to the BIAs definition of "crime of moral turpitude.")
NOTE: Here the Ninth Circuit declines to give deference to the Matter of Silva-Trevino, 24 I. & N. Dec. 687, 688 (A.G. 2008) ("[a] reprehensible act with some form of scienter."). Instead the Ninth Circuit continues to consider CMT to be of two types: "those involving fraud and those involving grave acts of baseness or depravity.");Carty v. Ashcroft, 395 F.3d 1081, 1083 (9th Cir. 2005); Navarro-Lopez v.
JUDICIAL REVIEW - DEFERENCE - MORAL TURPITUDE DEFINITION
Marmolejo-Campos v. Holder, 558 F.3d 903 (9th Cir. Mar. 4, 2009) (en banc) (no deference owed to the BIAs definition of "crime of moral turpitude.")
NOTE: Here the Ninth Circuit declines to give deference to the Matter of Silva-Trevino, 24 I. & N. Dec. 687, 688 (A.G. 2008) ("[a] reprehensible act with some form of scienter."). Instead the Ninth Circuit continues to consider CMT to be of two types: "those involving fraud and those involving grave acts of baseness or depravity.");Carty v. Ashcroft, 395 F.3d 1081, 1083 (9th Cir. 2005); Navarro-Lopez v.
