There are two different versions of the statute defining the one-CMT ground of deportation.  The date of initiation of deportation or removal proceedings determines which version applies in a given case. 

 

·        For proceedings initiated prior to Apr. 24, 1996, a sentence of one year or more must have been imposed in order to trigger the one-CMT ground of deportation. See § 5.10, infra. 

·        For removal cases initiated on or after Apr. 24, 1996, AEDPA provided that a conviction of a CMT with a possible sentence of one year or more was sufficient to trigger deportation. See § 5.9, infra.

Seventh Circuit

SENTENCE - DATE OF SENTENCE - SENTENCE DATE IS DATE OF ORAL PRONOUNCEMENT, RATHER THAN ENTRY OF JUDGMENT
United States v Evans, 92 F. 3d 540, 544 (7th Cir. 1996) (the term "sentencing" refers "to the pronouncing of sentence by the judge in open court, rather than to the subsequent recording of the sentence on a docket sheet" under statute requiring application of U.S. Sentencing Guidelines in effect "on the date the defendant is sentenced."), citing 18 U.S.C. 3553(a)(4)(A); accord, United States v Navarro-Espinosa, 30 F3d 1169, 1170 (9th Cir. 1994) ("imposition of sentence" is "a term of art that generally refers to the time at which a sentence is orally pronounced.").

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.