Criminal Defense of Immigrants

(C)  Definition of Conviction.  For immigration purposes, a “conviction” means:

                                (1)           A formal judgment of guilt including sentence; or

(2)           A deferred adjudication, or its equivalent, which remains a conviction even if it is not a conviction under the law of the jurisdiction, and even if a state court “conviction” has been erased by some sort of rehabilitative process, provided:

                                                (a)           there was a court or jury verdict or plea of guilty or no                                                                               contest, including an Alford plea, or any admission by                                                                               the defendant of sufficient facts to warrant a                                                                                                conviction, and

                                                (b)           the court imposed some form of punishment, penalty                                                                                or restraint such as any type of incarceration, or                                                                                               probation, or a fine.  See § § 7.11-7.12, infra.