(C)  State Sentencing.  The actual sentence imposed is also a determination made by state law.  The criminal court decides how long a defendant shall spend in criminal custody, and whether to impose additional time for a probation or parole violation.[403]  In some cases, however, a sentence imposed by a judge might not be considered relevant in determining removability, as where the sentence imposed is irrelevant to a determination whether a conviction constitutes an aggravated felony,[404] or where the court imposes a recidivist sentence enhancement.[405]

[403] United States v. Moreno-Cisneros, 319 F.3d 456 (9th Cir. Jan 31, 2003); United States v. Jimenez, 258 F.3d 1120 (9th Cir. July 31, 2001).

[404] See § 19.10, supra.

[405] See § 16.33, supra.

Second Circuit

CONVICTION - NATURE OF CONVICTION - ELEMENTS OF OFFENSE OF CONVICTION - STATE JUDICIAL DECISIONS INCLUDE INTERMEDIATE APPELLATE COURTS AS WELL AS STATE SUPREME COURT
Blake v. Gonzales, ___ F.3d ___, ___, n.3, 2007 WL 914865 (2d Cir. March 28, 2007) (in determining the elements of the offense of conviction under state law, "we are bound to apply the law as interpreted by a state's intermediate appellate courts unless we find persuasive evidence that the state's highest court, which has not ruled on this issue, would reach a different conclusion. See Pahuta v. Massey-Ferguson, Inc., 170 F.3d 125, 134 (2d Cir.1999).").

Third Circuit

RECORD OF CONVICTION - LABEL OF STATE SENTENCING STATUTE NOT PART OF THE RECORD OF CONVICTION
Jeune v. Attorney General, 476 F.3d 199, 2007 WL 512510 (3d Cir. Feb. 20, 2007) (Pennsylvania conviction of manufacture, delivery, or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance, in violation of 35 Pa. Cons.Stat. Ann. 780-113(a)(30), does not constitute an "aggravated felony" under INA 101(a)(43)(B), 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(43)(B), for immigration purposes, even though defendant was sentenced under state sentencing statute labelled "drug trafficking," since statute provided no more than that the defendant was convicted under the statute of the offense of conviction).

Fifth Circuit

CONVICTION - EFFECT OF STATE LAW ON FEDERAL IMMIGRATION DECISION - IMMIGRATION CONSEQUENCES OF CONVICTIONS ARE QUESTIONS OF FEDERAL, NOT STATE, LAW
United States v. Fazande, 487 F.3d 307 (5th Cir. May 18, 2007) (per curiam) (federal sentence effect of state conviction is a question of federal, not state law, holding Full Faith and Credit Act, 28 U.S.C. 1738, did not require federal sentencing court to follow state law on whether it constituted a conviction to enhance a federal sentence); see United States v. Morales, 854 F.2d 65, 68 (5th Cir. 1988) (the meaning of the phrase "have become final" in 18 U.S.C. 841(b)(1)(B) is a question of federal law, not state law).

DIVISIBLE STATUTE ANALYSIS - STATE LABEL
United States v. Iniguez-Barba, ___ F.3d ___, 485 F.3d 790 (5th Cir. April 25, 2007) (per curiam) ("While we don't look only to the label of the statute at issue to determine what exactly it proscribes, see Fierro-Reyna, 466 F.3d at 326-27, of course we must look to the labels of the statutes to which we compare the statute at issue.")

Eighth Circuit

NATURE OF OFFENSE - STATE LABEL IRRELEVANT
United States v. Chavarria-Brito, 526 F.3d 1184 (8th Cir. May 29, 2008) ("The mere fact that a state labels a crime as forgery does not control whether his crime is actually related to forgery [under federal law]."), citing Taylor v. United States, 495 U.S. 575, 590-591, 110 S.Ct. 2143, 109 L.Ed.2d 607 (1990).

Other

MARIANA ISLANDS COME UNDER INA
S.2739 became Public Law No. 110-229 on May 8, 2008, the immigration related provisions are excerpted here. http://www.ilw.com/immigdaily/news/2008,0514-cnmi.shtm