Kucana v. Holder, ___ U.S. ___, 130 S.Ct. 827 (2009) (individuals who seek to reopen their deportation orders have the right to appeal to the federal courts if the immigration court refuses to hear the appeal).

Kucana v. Holder, ___ U.S. ___, 130 S.Ct. 827 (2009) (INA 242(a)(2)(B)(ii) prevents judicial review of issues that the INA explicitly placed within the discretion of the Attorney General; the courts are not barred from review where the Attorney General has declared by regulation that the decision is discretionary).

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court held that the courts of appeals have jurisdiction to review a BIA decision denying a motion to reopen. The case, Kucana v. Holder, No. 08-911, 558 U.S. ___ (Jan.

Matter of Morales, 25 I. & N. Dec. 186 (BIA Jan. 27, 2010) (stepparent who qualifies as a "parent" under INA 101(b)(2), 8 U.S.C. 1101(b)(2) (2006), at the time of the proceedings is a qualifying relative for purposes of establishing exceptional and extremely unusual hardship for cancellation of removal under INA 240A(b)(1)(D), 8 U.S.C. 1229b(b)(1)(D)(2006)).

Matter of Martinez-Espinoza, 25 I. & N. Dec. 118, 123 (BIA 2009) ("Because the scope of section 212(h) is uncertain as it relates to drug paraphernalia offenses, we must resolve the uncertainty in a reasonable manner."), citing Neguise v. Holder, 129 S.Ct. 1159, 1163-1164 (2009).

Lee v. USCIS, __ F.3d __ (4th Cir. Jan. 25, 2010) (district courts lack jurisdiction to review USCIS denial of adjustment of status on the basis that 8 C.F.R. 245.10(j) was invalid under the APA).

Kellerman v. Holder, 592 F.3d 700 (6th Cir. Jan. 25, 2010) (noncitizen convicted by jury trial ineligible for INA 212(c) relief under St. Cyr).

Donley v. Davi, 180 Cal.App.4th 447, 459 n.4 (Dec. 2, 2009) ("We emphasize that we do not find moral turpitude in the willfulness of the act alone. " [I]t is well settled that the terms "willful" or "willfully," when applied in a penal statute, require only that the illegal act or omission occur "intentionally," without regard to motive or ignorance of the act's prohibited character. [Citations.] [Citation.] Willfully implies no evil intent; "it implies that the person knows what he is doing, intends to do what he is doing and is a free agent." [Citation.] [Citation.]" (People v.

Donley v. Davi, 180 Cal.App.4th 447, 461 (Dec. 2, 2009), citing, People v. Crittenden (1994) 9 Cal.4th 83, 120, fn. 3, 36 Cal.Rptr.2d 474, 885 P.2d 887; Howard Contracting, Inc. v. G.A. MacDonald Construction Co. (1998) 71 Cal.App.4th 38, 52, 83 Cal.Rptr.2d 590 ["federal decisional authority is neither binding nor controlling in matters involving state law"].)

United States v. Rivera-Oros, 590 F.3d 1123 (10th Cir. Dec. 29, 2009) ("The definition and scope of the enumerated offenses are questions of federal law. The label that a state attaches to a crime under its laws does not determine whether it is a Guidelines enumerated offense."); see United States v. Servin-Acosta, 534 F.3d 1362, 1366 (10th Cir.2008) ("[W]e have rejected the notion that whether a state conviction was for an enumerated but undefined crime depends upon how the crime is characterized under state law. " (quoting United States v.

Pelayo-Garcia v. Holder, 589 F.3d 1010 (9th Cir. Dec. 14, 2009) ("the availability of a mistake-of-age defense is not equivalent to the requirement that the government prove that the defendant had the requisite state of mind."), citing United States v. Gomez-Mendez, 486 F.3d 599, 603-604 (9th Cir. 2007) (refusing to treat an affirmative defense as the functional equivalent to an element of the offense).