Criminal Defense of Immigrants

After checking to make sure a given safe-haven disposition does not trigger (a) a conviction-based ground of deportation, or (b) a conduct-based ground of deportation, a summary of each safe haven disposition should be created, including for each:

                (1)  The statute of conviction.

                (2)  The offense of conviction within the statute.

                (3)  The minimum elements of the offense of conviction.

                (4)  The maximum possible sentence to custody that can be imposed for the conviction. 

                (5)  The actual sentence to custody that has been or will be imposed on account of the conviction.  This includes (a) the level of the offense: whether it is a felony, misdemeanor, or lesser offense, and (b) any order of restitution that will be imposed.

                (6)  Any other significant sentence elements must also be listed, such as any sentence enhancements, probation restrictions, registration requirements, and the effect of the conviction as a prior conviction in any future prosecution.  See also N. Tooby & J. Rollin, Safe Havens: How to Identify and Construct Non-Deportable Convictions, Chap. 6 (2005).