Carachuri-Rosendo v. Holder

Amicus curiae brief of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the National Legal Aid and Defender Association, the National Association of Federal Defenders, the Immigrant Defense Project, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, the National Immigrant Justice Center, and the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild in support of Petitioner.

Brief filed: 08/17/2009

Documents

Carachuri-Rosendo v. Holder

United States Supreme Court; Case No. 09-60

Prior Decision

Decision below 570 F.3d 263 (5th Cir. 2009).

Argument(s)

The perfunctory processing of low-level (misdemeanor) drug charges is rooted in the understanding that ordinarily defendants face less serious direct and collateral consequences. Essentially duped into believing that these charges were resolved with a quick plea, many non-citizens, including permanent legal residents, subsequently find themselves subject to deportation, despite the fact that they were charged with the most minor drug possession offenses that exist within state penal codes. The issue before the Court is whether a person convicted under state law for simple drug possession (a federal misdemeanor) has been “convicted” of a deportable “aggravated felony” where there was no charge or finding of a prior conviction in his prosecution for possession.

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Author(s)

Jim Walden and Richard A. Bierschbach, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP, New York. (Merits Brief: Carachuri-Rosendo v. Holder)