Criminal Defense of Immigrants



 
 

§ 10.55 (B)

 
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(B)  Length of Sentence.  The sentence minutes, judgment, and reporter’s transcript state the felony or misdemeanor level of the offense, as well as the length of any court-ordered imprisonment, which can of course be considered as part of the record of conviction for purposes of deciding whether the conviction falls within a ground of deportation or inadmissibility, or qualification for relief, that depends on those factors. 

 

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Second Circuit

SENTENCE - DATE OF CONVICTION - SENTENCE REQUIRED TO CONSTITUTE CONVICTION
Puello v. BCIS, 511 F.3d 324 (2d Cir. Dec. 20, 2007) (under INA 101(f)(8), 8 U.S.C. 1101(f)(8), the date of conviction is the date of sentence: "In sum, we hold that, under the plain meaning of the definition of "conviction" in 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(48)(A), the entry of a "formal judgment of guilt . . . by a court" occurs when judgment is entered on the docket, not when a defendant pleads guilty."); see Perez v. Elwood, 294 F.3d 552, 562 (3d Cir. 2002) (the date of conviction under the INA is the date of either sentencing or entry of judgment on the docket); Abimbola v. Ashcroft, 378 F.3d 173, 181 (2d Cir. 2004) (an Alford plea coupled with a sentence constitutes a conviction under the INA, and noting that "Congress focused the sanction of removal on a criminal conviction as opposed to an admission of guilt"); Mugalli v. Ashcroft, 258 F.3d 52, 62 (2d Cir. 2001) (in the deportation context, a New York state conviction mitigated by a Certificate of Relief is still a conviction under the INA because the defendant "entered a plea of guilty, and the court entered a formal judgment of guilt").

 

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