Safe Havens

(C)  Convictions Beyond Jurisdiction of Criminal Court.  The only exceptions are criminal convictions that are beyond the jurisdiction of the court in which they occurred.  INS regulations formerly defined the term “conviction” to mean “a conviction by a court of competent jurisdiction.”[26]  A convicting court’s lack of subject matter jurisdiction may therefore deprive a conviction of its validity for immigration purposes.[27]  The lack of jurisdiction of the criminal court to enter the conviction may be challenged in immigration proceedings.  See Chapter 4, infra; N. Tooby, J. Rollin & J. Foster, Crimes of Moral Turpitude § § 10.9, 10.19 (2005).

[26] Former 8 C.F.R. § 242.2(b).

[27] See, e.g., United States v. Ceja-Prado, 333 F.3d 1046 (9th Cir. June 25, 2003) (where proof of defendant’s age is lacking, and s/he may have been a juvenile at the time the crime was committed, there may be no federal jurisdiction over defendant’s case pursuant to the Federal Juvenile Delinquency Act, 18 U.S.C. § 5031); United States v. Gutierrez-Alba, 128 F.3d 1324 (9th Cir. 1997) (assuming without deciding that adult trial court lacked jurisdiction to convict juvenile defendant, but finding sufficient admission of disqualifying conduct).