A perennial problem in criminal law, and the closely related area of deportation for crime, is the fact that the laws of one jurisdiction must take into account crimes prosecuted under the law of another jurisdiction. What do we do when the elements of the crimes don't match up completely?
Federal immigration law provides for deportation, with no exceptions and expedited process, for aliens who commit an "aggravated felony." The principle is sound, but the definition of "aggravated felony" needs a lot of work. Congress really needs to pay some attention to this.
The definition refers to a list of federal offenses, many of which have elements of effects on interstate commerce because in many cases the federal government does not have the authority to make an act criminal without such a connection. If a person is convicted in state court of an offense which is the same except for the interstate commerce element, is that an "aggravated felony" for deportation purposes? Yes, that's one of the easier questions in this area.
Justice Kagan wrote the opinion of the court in Luna-Torres v. Lynch, No. 14-1096 (5-3). Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justices Thomas and Breyer, dissented. They would apply the words of the statute literally.
There is something to be said for the view that if Congress screwed up the wording, and it did, it's up to Congress to fix it. Even so, this is a good result in the case and for the law generally. Luna is an arsonist, and we don't need him in this country.
Federal immigration law provides for deportation, with no exceptions and expedited process, for aliens who commit an "aggravated felony." The principle is sound, but the definition of "aggravated felony" needs a lot of work. Congress really needs to pay some attention to this.
The definition refers to a list of federal offenses, many of which have elements of effects on interstate commerce because in many cases the federal government does not have the authority to make an act criminal without such a connection. If a person is convicted in state court of an offense which is the same except for the interstate commerce element, is that an "aggravated felony" for deportation purposes? Yes, that's one of the easier questions in this area.
Justice Kagan wrote the opinion of the court in Luna-Torres v. Lynch, No. 14-1096 (5-3). Justice Sotomayor, joined by Justices Thomas and Breyer, dissented. They would apply the words of the statute literally.
There is something to be said for the view that if Congress screwed up the wording, and it did, it's up to Congress to fix it. Even so, this is a good result in the case and for the law generally. Luna is an arsonist, and we don't need him in this country.
Leave a comment