CONVICTION " NATURE OF CONVICTION " CATEGORICAL ANALYSIS " AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE

United States v. Hernandez, 769 F.3d 1059 (9th Cir. Oct. 20, 2014) (per curiam) (California conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm under California Penal Code 12021(a)(1), did not categorically qualify as a listed firearms aggravated felony, under INA 101(a)(43)(E), 8 U.S.C. 101(a)(43)(E), and is therefore insufficient to support an illegal reentry sentence enhancement, under U.S.S.G.

SAFE HAVEN " CARRYING A CONCEALED FIREARM CRIM DEF " FIREARMS OFFENSES " DEFINITION OF FIREARM

A plea to carrying a concealed firearm on the person, in violation of Pen C 25400(a)(2), should not be considered a crime of moral turpitude, a firearms conviction, or an aggravated felony, as a ground of deportation, inadmissibility, or even for relief purposes such as cancellation of removal. United States v. Aguilera"Rios, 754 F.3d 1105, 1112 (9th Cir. 2014); Matter of Chairez, 26 I&N Dec. 349, 35558 (BIA 2014).

POST CON RELIEF " GROUNDS " BREACH OF PLEA AGREEMENT

United States v. Heredia, 768 F.3d 1220 (9th Cir. Oct. 8, 2014) (vacating sentence on grounds that the government violated the plea agreement by making repeated inflammatory references to the defendant's criminal history in its sentencing memorandum, in effect arguing for a higher punishment than it had agreed to recommend; the court reversed the sentence, not the conviction, since the defendant waived any argument the error invalidated the conviction itself).

CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES " UNIDENTIFIED SUBSTANCE AGGRAVATED FELONY " DRUG TRAFFICKING " UNIDENTIFIED SUBSTANCE

Medina-Lara v. Holder, 771 F.3d 1106 (9th Cir. Oct. 10, 2014) (California conviction of possession for sale of a controlled substance, in violation of Health & Safety Code 11351, is neither an aggravated felony drug trafficking conviction, under INA 101(a)(43)(B), 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(43)(B), nor a controlled substances conviction, under INA 237(a)(2)(B)(i), 8 U.S.C.

NATURE OF CONVICTION " RECORD OF CONVICTION " CHARGING DOCUMENTS " AS CHARGED LANGUAGE

Medina-Lara v. Holder, 771 F.3d 1106, 1113 (9th Cir. Oct. 10, 2014) (When a court using the modified categorical approach to determine whether an underlying conviction is a predicate offense relies solely on the link between the charging papers and the abstract of judgment, that link must be clear and convincing.

FIREARMS OFFENSES " CARRYING A FIREARM IN THE COURSE OF A FELONY

Medina-Lara v. Holder, 771 F.3d 1106, 1116 (9th Cir. Oct. 10, 2014), withdrawing prior opinion at 767 F.3d 801 (9th Cir. Sept. 19, 2014) (California conviction of possession for sale of a controlled substance, in violation of Health & Safety Code 11351, with a sentence enhancement for carrying a firearm during that offense, in violation of Penal Code 12022(c), did not constitute a deportable firearms offense, under INA 237(a)(2)(C), 8 U.S.C.

RELIEF " NACARA " GOOD MORAL CHARACTER

Agragon-Salazar v. Holder, __ F.3d __ (9th Cir. Oct. 2, 2014) (seven year good moral character period ends on the date of filing the application; false statement made after date of filing NACARA application does not bar good moral character).

NOTE: This decision also discusses the issue of which, of two, submitted applications should be considered for determining the date of filing for GMC purposes.

AGGRAVATED FELONY " CRIME OF VIOLENCE " AGGRAVATED FLEEING

Dixon v. U.S. Atty. Gen., 768 F.3d 1339 (11th Cir. Oct. 1, 2014) (Florida conviction for aggravated fleeing, Fla. Stat. 316.1935(4)(a), is categorically a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. 16(b), for purposes of triggering deportation under INA 101(a)(43)(F), 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(43)(F), because it involves a substantial risk that intentional violent force will be used in the commission of the offense).

SENTENCE IMPOSED " CUMULATIVE ORIGINAL SENTENCE PLUS PROBATION VIOLATION SENTENCE

Dixon v. U.S. Atty. Gen., 768 F.3d 1339 (11th Cir. Oct. 1, 2014) (Florida conviction for aggravated fleeing, Fla. Stat. 316.1935(4)(a), is categorically a crime of violence aggravated felony, under INA 101(a)(43)(F), 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(43)(F), because the original sentence to incarceration, plus the additional sentence to incarceration imposed as a result of a probation violation, totalled one year or more).

VAWA " JUDICIAL REVIEW " BATTERED SPOUSE

Butalova v. Atty Gen., __ F.3d __ (11th Cir. Oct. 7, 2014) (court lacks jurisdiction to determine whether noncitizen is a battered spouse, under INA 204(a)(1)(A)(iii)).

 

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