Morales-Garcia v. HolderMorales-Garcia v. Holder
Moisés Eduardo Morales-Garda (“Morales”) petitions for review of a final order of removal based on the Immigration Judge’s (“IJ”) and Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) determination that his conviction under
BACKGROUND
Morales, a native and citizen of Mexico, entered the United States without inspection near San Ysidro, California, in September, 1986. In 2006, the Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) served a Notice to Appear (“NTA”) on Morales, alleging that he was subject to removal on two grounds: first, for being an alien present in the United States without being admitted or paroled,
see
At his hearing before the IJ, Morales conceded removability; however, he denied the fact of his conviction under
On or about the 23rd day of March, 2003, in the County of El Dorado, the crime of CORPORAL INJURY TO SPOUSE/COHABITANT/FORMER COHABITANT/CHILD’S PARENT, in violation of PENAL CODE SECTION 273.5(a), a felony, was committed by MOISES EDUARDO .MORALES, who did willfully and unlawfully inflict corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition upon Martha Adriana Salazar, who was cohabiting with defendant.
The IJ sustained the factual allegations in the NTA and, based on that determination, the IJ also sustained the charge of removability on the ground that Morales had been convicted of a CIMT.
At the hearing, Morales also l’aised the possibility that he was eligible for a waiver of inadmissibility under INA § 212(h),
DHS: Well, I’m not sure where the respondent’s counsel is going with this in regards to the [conviction under Cal.Penal Code § ] 273.5.
IJ: That’s why I assume it was, that’s why I assumed you would like to brief concurrently. What he’s saying is he can tender cancellation with a 212(h) waiver....
Following briefing on the issue by both parties, the IJ denied Morales’ request for cancellation of removal based on a waiver of inadmissibility. The IJ then entered an order of removal.
Morales timely appealed to the BIA, which dismissed the appeal in a per curiam order. On the issue of whether
STANDARD OF REVIEW
“[W]e review
de novo
the BIA’s determination of questions of law, except to the extent that deference is owed to its interpretation of the governing statutes and regulations.”
Garcia-Quintero v. Gonzales,
Morales contends that the BIA erred in affirming the IJ’s determination that his conviction under
1. Categorical Approach
A. Definition of crimes involving moral turpitude
“Whether a crime involves moral turpitude is determined by the statutory definition or by the nature of the crime and not by the specific conduct that resulted in the conviction.”
Id.
at 1070 (citation and quotation marks omitted). The categorical approach requires that we “compare the elements of the statute of conviction to the generic definition [of moral turpitude], and decide whether the conduct proscribed ... is broader than, and so does not categorically fall within, this generic definition.”
Fernandez-Ruiz v. Gonzales,
When determining the reach of the state criminal statute at issue, we consider not only the text of the statute, but also state court interpretations of the statutory language.
See Galeana-Mendoza,
The statute provides, in relevant part:
(a) Any person who willfully inflicts upon a person who is his or her spouse, former spouse, cohabitant, former cohabitant, or the mother or father of his or her child, corporal injury resulting in a traumatic condition, is guilty of a felony, and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years, or in a county jail for not more than one year, or by a fíne of up to six thousand dollars ($6,000) or by both that fíne and imprisonment.
(c) As used in this section, “traumatic condition” means a condition of the body, such as a wound or external or internal injury, whether of a minor or serious nature, caused by physical force.
1. A person inflicted bodily injury upon [[his][her] [former] spouse] [a [former] cohabitant] [the [mother] [or] [father] of [his] [her] child];
2. The infliction of bodily injury was willful [and unlawful]; and
3. The bodily injury resulted in a traumatic condition.
CALJIC 9.35, Cal. Jury Instructions— Criminal (2008).
“The term ‘cohabitant’ has been interpreted ‘broadly’ to refer to those living together in a substantial relationship — one manifested, minimally, by permanence and sexual or amorous intimacy.”
People v. Taylor,
C. Categorical analysis of
We now compare the elements of
1. Grageda
First, we explain why we are not bound by the
Grageda
decision. We recognize, as a general matter, that “a three-judge panel may not overrule a prior decision of the court.”
Miller v. Gammie,
Grageda
resolved the following issue: “whether spousal abuse is a crime of moral turpitude upon the basis of which an alien can be deported.”
Grageda,
2. Applying the categorical analysis
Otherwise non-morally turpitudinous conduct targeted at a victim with whom the defendant has a special relationship may transform a crime into one involving moral turpitude. In
Grageda,
for example, we held that “when a person willfully beats his or her spouse severely enough to cause ‘a traumatic condition,’ he or she has committed an act of baseness or depravity contrary to accepted moral standards.”
Grageda,
Grageda
reasoned that it is particularly morally objectionable to beat a person “[1] committed to a [2] relationship of trust with, and ... [3] dependent upon, the perpetrator.”
Grageda,
Because the victims covered by
II. Modified Categorical Approach
As we indicated at the outset of our discussion, even if a statutory offense fails to qualify as a CIMT under the categorical approach, in most cases, it is still possible that the crime of conviction at issue can qualify as a CIMT under the modified categorical approach.
See Quintero-Salazar,
CONCLUSION
We hold that Morales’ conviction under CaLPenal Code
PETITION GRANTED and REMANDED.
Notes
. The court also imposed a $500 parole restitution fine under
. Courts have also consistently held that crimes involving fraud are morally turpitudinous.
See Nicanor-Romero,
. We recently held, in the context of determining whether a state conviction was a crime of violence under U.S.S.G. § 4B 1.2(a)(1), that courts may rely on an opinion rendered by an intermediate state appellate court to determine the reach of the state statute.
See United States v. Taylor,
. We recently clarified that “once the elements of the petitioner’s offense are established, our review of the BIA’s determination that such offense constitutes a 'crime of moral turpitude’ is governed by the same traditional principles of administrative deference we apply to the Board's interpretation of other ambiguous terms in the INA." Marmolejo-Campos, 558 F.3d at *911 (emphasis added). Relying heavily on Grageda, In re Tran holds that “infliction of bodily harm upon a person with whom one has such a familial relationship is an act of depravity which is contrary to accepted moral standards.” In re Tran, 21 I. & N. Dec. at 294 (emphasis added). Because In re Tran incorrectly identifies the elements of § 273.5(a) in at least one significant respect, we do not defer to the BIA’s holding in In re Tran.
.
Grageda
interpreted the statute to require that the defendant "intended to cause the harm,”
. Even in cases involving crimes committed against those in a special relationship with the perpetrator, we have required that the offending conduct result in injury to the victim.
Galeana-Mendoza,
. We therefore do not reach the issue, briefed and argued by the parties, of whether a waiver of inadmissibility under
. We do not resolve the issue raised by the government that Morales' conviction under