Crimes of Moral Turpitude

The immigration authorities can submit any of the documents listed in 8 C.F.R. § 1003.41 as proof of a conviction.  This includes a record of judgment and conviction, record of plea, verdict and sentence, docket entries, court minutes and abstracts, and any other documents prepared by or under direction of the court, and any other evidence that reasonably indicates the existence of a criminal conviction.  Even when the immigration authorities present such documentation, the documents may still be challenged as insufficient.[139]

Note, however, that the documents listed in 8 C.F.R. § 1003.41 are used to determine only the “fact” of conviction, rather than the “nature” of the conviction.[140]

[139] See, e.g., Adefemi v. Ashcroft, 386 F.3d 1022 (11th Cir. Sept. 28, 2004) (en banc), vacating and withdrawing previous opinions, 358 F.3d 828 (11th Cir. Jan. 29, 2004), and 335 F.3d 1269 (11th Cir. June 30, 2003) (BIA could reasonably have concluded that government showed by clear and convincing evidence that noncitizen had been convicted of firearms offense upon evidence of certified record of conviction, even though record contained conflicting information, and unfilled blanks).

[140] See Chapter 7, infra.