Lopes v. Keisler, 505 F.3d 58 (1st Cir. Oct. 26, 2007) (Rhode Island conviction for assault and battery, in violation of Gen.Laws 1956, 11-5-3, is an aggravated felony for immigration purposes, since the statue requires "use of force" as an element; although the statute does not define "assault," the Rhode Island Supreme Court has defined assault as an attempt to do a bodily harm to another person with "force or violence"; "because section 11-5-3 does not provide a definition of assault, the BIA appropriately looked to Rhode Island case law to determine how the state defines the crime.").

Lopes v. Keisler, 505 F.3d 58 (1st Cir. Oct. 26, 2007) ("[T]his court will consider whether the crime the petitioner actually committed -- as demonstrated by the record of conviction -- constitutes a crime of violence, rather than hypothesize whether every conceivable conviction under a broad statute would constitute a crime of violence."), following Conteh v. Gonzales, 461 F.3d 45 (1st Cir. 2006).

As an example of the BIAs use of state court decisions in determining the immigration effect of a state criminal conviction, compare Matter of Bart, 20 I. & N. Dec. 436 (BIA 1992) (Pennsylvania passing bad checks not a CMT) with Matter of Balao, 20 I. & N. Dec. 440 (BIA 1992) (Georgia passing bad checks a CMT). Looking at the elements of two states statutes, as defined by case law, the BIA found the offense of passing a bad check to be a CMT in one case, while not a CMT in the other.
Thanks to Jonathan Moore.

United States v. Gutierrez-Bautista, __ F.3d __, 2007 WL 3173614 (5th Cir. Oct. 31, 2007) (Georgia conviction for possession and sale of a controlled substance, in violation of Ga. Code 16-13-31(e), is a drug trafficking offense for illegal re-entry sentencing purposes).

United States v. Gutierrez-Bautista, __ F.3d __, 2007 WL 3173614 (5th Cir. Oct. 31, 2007) (looking to Georgia law to determine whether a conjunctive charge of violating a disjunctive statute indicates a plea to "possession and sale" or "possession or sale"; finding that under Georgia law, a plea to a conjunctive charge is a plea to all averments of fact).

Jordison v. Keisler, 501 F.3d 1134 (9th Cir. Sept. 4, 2007, amended Oct. 30, 2007) (where the offense of conviction is not a crime of violence under the categorical approach, the government acknowledges it has supplied the complete record of conviction, and such record is inadequate to prove that the defendant committed a crime of violence under the modified categorical approach, it is not necessary to remand the matter to allow BIA to determine whether defendant committed a crime of violence under the modified categorical analysis).

Jordison v. Keisler, 501 F.3d 1134 (9th Cir. Sept. 4, 2007, amended Oct. 30, 2007) (where the offense of conviction is not a crime of violence under the categorical approach, the government acknowledges it has supplied the complete record of conviction, and such record is inadequate to prove that the defendant committed a crime of violence under the modified categorical approach, it is not necessary to remand the matter to allow BIA to determine whether defendant committed a crime of violence under the modified categorical analysis).

"Following a review of country conditions and consultations with the Secretary of State and other appropriate Government agencies, the Secretary of Homeland Security has determined that the temporary protected status (TPS) designation for Burundi should be terminated. This termination will not take effect until May 2, 2009, to provide for an orderly transition." Federal Register, Oct. 29, 2007.

Mejia-Orellana v. Gonzales, 502 F.3d 13 (1st Cir. Sept. 6, 2007) (noncitizen who obtained lawful permanent resident status by fraud has not been lawfully admitted to the United States and is therefore ineligible for LPR cancellation of removal).

Mejia-Orellana v. Gonzales, 502 F.3d 13 (1st Cir. Sept. 6, 2007) (noncitizen who obtained lawful permanent resident status by fraud has not been lawfully admitted to the United States and is therefore ineligible for LPR cancellation of removal).