Fourth Circuit

AGGRAVATED FELONY " FIREARMS OFFENSES " FIRST-DEGREE ARSON
Espinal-Andrades v. Holder, ___ F.3d ___, 2015 WL 268528 (4th Cir. Jan. 22, 2015) (Maryland conviction of first-degree arson, in violation of Md.Code Ann., Crim. Law 6"102, qualified as an aggravated felony under INA 101(a)(43)(E), 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(43)(E), because the elements are identical to the elements of the federal arson statute, 18 U.S.C. 844(i), which is listed under this aggravated felony definition, except for the interstate commerce element, which Congress did not intend to bar inclusion of a state offense in the aggravated felony definition); rejecting contrary analysis of Bautista v. Attorney Gen. of U.S., 744 F.3d 54 (3d Cir. 2014).

AGGRAVATED FELONY - CRIME OF VIOLENCE - MALICIOUS BURNING OF PROPERTY CONSTITUTES CRIME OF VIOLENCE
Mbea v. Gonzales, ___ F.3d ___, 2007 WL 852346 (4th Cir. March 22, 2007) (District of Columbia conviction of malicious burning of property, in violation of D.C.Code 22-401 (1994) [current version at D.C.Code Ann. 22-301 (2000)], with an indeterminate sentence from 18 months to five years imprisonment, constitutes a crime of violence, under 18 U.S.C. 16(a), and therefore an aggravated felony which renders him statutorily ineligible for cancellation of removal under INA 240(A)(a) and for a hardship waiver under INA 212(h)(1)(B), since: "Fire is itself a physical force. Indeed, the Oxford English Dictionary defines "physical force" as, inter alia, "an influence acting within the physical world, a force of nature." See Oxford English Dictionary (2003). Fire is nothing if not a "force of nature" that exerts an influence "within the physical world." For fire not only has the power to provide warmth and light, but also the power to destroy."); see United States v. Mitchell, 23 F.3d 1, 2 n.3 (1st Cir. 1994) (per curiam) (holding that federal arson as set forth in 18 U.S.C. 844(i) is a "crime of violence" under 18 U.S.C. 3156(a)(4)); United States v. Marzullo, 780 F.Supp. 658, 662 & n. 7 (W.D.Mo. 1991) (same); United States v. Shaker, 665 F.Supp. 698, 702 n. 4 (N.D.Ind. 1987) (same). http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data2/circs/4th/051204p.pdf

Ninth Circuit

AGGRAVATED FELONY - CRIME OF VIOLENCE - ARSON
Jordison v. Gonzales, 501 F.3d 1134 (9th Cir. Sept. 4, 2007) (California conviction of arson, in violation of Penal Code 452(c) ("recklessly set[ting] fire to . . . a structure or forest land"), was not a "crime of violence" under 18 U.S.C. section 16(b) for purposes of triggering deportation as an aggravated felony under INA 101(a)(43)(F), 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(43)(F), since offense may be committed by setting fire to ones own property).