(A)  In General.  IIAIRA definition of the one-CMT deportation ground governs removal proceedings initiated on and after April 1, 1997.  The statute defining the one-CMT ground of deportation now provides:

 

Any alien [in the United States] who –

(I)  is convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude committed within five years (or 10 years in the case of a noncitizen provided lawful permanent resident status under section 245(j)) after the date of admission, and

(II) is convicted of a crime for which a sentence of one year or longer may be imposed, is deportable.[226]

 

Thus, under the current, post-AEDPA law, a conviction is a deportable CMT if a potential one-year sentence can be imposed.  A sentence of “at least one year” means a sentence of 365 days or more, rather than requiring a  “natural or lunar” year of 365 days plus some hours,[227] or a 366-day year containing Leap Year Day.  Twelve months is the equivalent of one year.[228]

 

This means that any conviction, including a misdemeanor conviction, with a maximum sentence of one year in custody will trigger the one-CMT ground of deportation.  The maximum sentence for some misdemeanor convictions is six months or less; in those cases, a misdemeanor CMT conviction will not trigger this deportation ground.  Each state statute must be individually assessed.

 

The definition of “maximum sentence” is technical.  See § 10.76, supra.

[226] INA § 237(a)(2)(A)(i), 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(i), as amended by the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, Pub. L. No. 103-322, § 130003(d), 108 Stat. 1796, 2026, as redesignated and amended by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRAIRA) (enacted as Division C of Omnibus Consolidated Appropriations Act, 1997, Pub. L. No. 104-208, § 305(a)(2), 110 Stat. 3009, 3009-597); Matter of Fortiz, 21 I. & N. Dec. 1199 (BIA 1998).

[227] Matsuk v. INS, 247 F.3d 999 (9th Cir. 2001).

[228] Matter of B, 2 I. & N. Dec. 578 (BIA 1946).

Ninth Circuit

CRIMES OF MORAL TURPITUDE " DEPORTATION " SENTENCE
Ceron v. Holder, ___ F.3d ___, ___, 2014 WL 1274096 (9th Cir. Mar. 31, 2014) (en banc) (California wobbler offense is a conviction for a crime for which a sentence of one year or longer may be imposed, since even if when treated as a misdemeanor, the maximum penalty is incarceration for one year), overruling Garcia-Lopez v. Ashcroft, 334 F.3d 840, 843 (9th Cir. 2003) and Ferreira v. Ashcroft, 382 F.3d 1045, 1051 (9th Cir. 2004), to the extent that they misstated California law

CRIMES OF MORAL TURPITUDE " DEPORTATION " SENTENCE
Ceron v. Holder, ___ F.3d ___, ___, 2014 WL 1274096 (9th Cir. Mar. 31, 2014) (en banc) (California wobbler offense is a conviction for a crime for which a sentence of one year or longer may be imposed, since even if when treated as a misdemeanor, the maximum penalty is incarceration for one year), overruling Garcia-Lopez v. Ashcroft, 334 F.3d 840, 843 (9th Cir. 2003) and Ferreira v. Ashcroft, 382 F.3d 1045, 1051 (9th Cir. 2004), to the extent that they misstated California law.

CRIMES OF MORAL TURPITUDE " DEPORTATION GROUND " SENTENCE
Mendez-Mendez v. Mukasey, 525 F.3d 828 (9th Cir. 2008) (the plain language of the phrase, maximum penalty possible in INA 212(a)(2)(A)(ii)(II), 8 U.S.C. 1182(a)(2)(A)(ii)(II), refers to the statutory maximum, not the guideline range, so noncitizen was ineligible for the petty offense exception to inadmissibility for one CMT conviction, under INA 212(a)(2)(A)(ii)(II), 8 U.S.C. (a)(2)(A)(ii)(II)). Note: This result is different under state sentencing statutes that prohibit a sentence in excess of one year for a given offense, criminal history, or other circumstances. United States v. Simmons, __ F.3d __ (4th Cir. Aug. 17, 2011), overfuling United States v. Tlarp, 406 F.3d 242 (4th Cir. 2005).