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A list of some references for crimes of moral turpitude, DUI, Shoplifting, public urination (maybe outside of the VSC?), the 1996 immigration law and the Patriot Act. Guys be careful!


One Size Does Not Fit All

Victor Hugo's Les Miserables was written in the 1800s. Jean Val Jean's character epitomized the futility and the inhumanity of the medieval legal standard where a single offense, no matter how minor, doomed a person for life. Such an approach to offenses is not just inhumane but is actually futile in achieving a society ruled by law. The time-tested legal principle therefore is one of tailoring the punishment to the crime. Unfortunately, the passions that immigration gives rise to sometimes cloud the minds of our legal policymakers. As modified by IIRIRA, our immigration laws currently enshrine a "one strike, you're out!" doctrine. An example of the absurdity that results can be seen in today's case where a "criminal alien" faced two years in federal prison and mandatory deportation apparently merely for the offense of urinating in public. We would be better off by ensuring that the punishment is proportional to the crime even in the immigration context instead of having to relearn the lessons of the Middle Ages once again.

http://www.visalaw.com/01aug4/12aug401.html

http://www.criminallawyers.ca/newslett/dec96/drukarsh.htm

http://www.criminallawyers.ca/newslett/19-4/segal.htm

http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/eousa/foia_reading_room/usam/title9/crm01934.htm

http://www.fitzgeraldlawcompany.com/english/criminal/convictions.html

http://www.pdsdc.org/CriminalLawDatabase/Immigration.asp?ID=1

http://www.callyourlawyers.com/mobile/gmcmobile.html

http://www.ndaa-apri.org/pdf/DA Guide.pdf

http://www.immigration-america.com/criminal.html

http://www.nysda.org/NYSDA_Resources/Immigrant_Defense_Project/

03_Immigration_Consequences_Checklist.pdf

http://www.dcba.org/brief/junissue/2003/art50603.htm

http://www.murthy.com/UDshoplg.html

http://www.ailf.org/lac/lac_briefarch_9912255220.htm

http://www.cyrusmehta.com/news_cyrus.asp?news_id=799&intPage=11

http://www.makezine.org/immigration.html

http://www.capriotti.com/bigtime.htm
 
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Hit and Run

Please stay away from any serious offenses as the Ashcroft laws are constantly changing!
 
Ma

Courtesy of 'www.heraldnews.com"

FALL RIVER -- The ramifications of certain pleas in Massachusetts courts should become clearer to immigrants, thanks to a bill signed by Gov. Mitt Romney last week.

The bill -- which was co-sponsored by state Rep. Antonio F.D. Cabral, D-New Bedford, and state Sen. Mark Montigny, D-New Bedford -- attempts to eliminate confusion in non-citizens’ court pleas in criminal cases.

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Specifically, the bill mandates state courts to "inform criminal defendants by clarifying that guilty pleas, pleas of no contest or pleas of continued without a finding could have ramifications with regard to immigration status such as deportation, denial of naturalization or exclusion from admission into the United States if the defendant is not a United States citizen."

According to Montigny, "The bill is simply humane and fair. If you are going to enter any kind of plea, you have to know your rights.

"The immigrant community brought it to us as a serious problem, where people were unaware of their rights or of the consequences of a plea bargain. As Americans, whether we are born here or immigrate here, (we) deserve full and fair justice and when there is not full disclosure of all the ramifications, we don’t have full transparency," Montigny said.

The new law requires state courts to explain that there may be immigration law consequences to a plea in all criminal cases.

Cabral said many immigrants have been surprised when they were denied citizenship because of minor incidents that may have taken place years earlier.

"This new law protects immigrants and their families, while saving our courts time and confusion," Cabral said. "It corrects a fundamental flaw in the courts’ procedures and it affirms the absolute right of an individual to know the immigration consequences of a plea bargain agreement in a criminal case."

Montigny said the law was needed because you can’t always count on lawyers to inform their clients of possible consequences of pleas.

"I think the lawyer’s duty is always to inform a client, but a person’s justice is too important to leave it to whether they have legal representation at all, or good legal representation," Montigny said. "These are folks who a lot of the time don’t have proper representation and sometimes have a language barrier, and they ought to know what they are up against."

Besides verbally informing defendants of possible implications of pleas, Cabral said the law also requires courts to produce written documentation that the possible ramifications were explained.

"The big question is, why this wasn’t a law already?" Montigny said. "People shouldn’t be confused by the justice system. It’s not just for people who can afford a good lawyer."

Daniel Fowler may be reached at dfowler@heraldnews.com.



©The Herald News 2004
 
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