Moral turpitude, it’s time to put a stake in its heart

Sunday, August 28th, 2016

This week brought two moral turpitude decisions from two courts of appeals, Ortega-Lopez v. Lynch in the Ninth Circuit  and Arias v.  Lynch in the 7th Circuit. Moral turpitude is important in immigration law. Getting convicted of two crimes involving moral turpitude can lead to deportation. INA § 237(a)(2)(A)(ii). Committing one and being punished with a jail sentence of more than 180 days (even if you don’t actually serve it!) leads to inadmissibility. Admitting to committing one without even being…

What a difference a panel makes.

Sunday, December 5th, 2010

People who study tests, whether they are good tests are not, use the concept of “reliability.” A reliable test is one that measures the knowledge of material consistently across time, individuals, and situations. So for example, if you give a history test on Monday and 20 percent get A’s and 20 percent get F’s, and then you re-test the next Monday and a different 20 percent get A’s and F’s, the test is not reliable. In the immigration context, people…

Oral arguments show a lawyer’s conundrum

Sunday, November 21st, 2010

On September 8, 2010, during oral argument in Chicago in the case, Sabri Samirah v. Eric Holder, No. 08-1889, about which I recently wrote,  Judge Richard Posner, discussing the fact that the alien about whom the case dealt had no access to judicial review because he was outside the United States but would if he returned to the United States illegally, had the following interchange with the Department of Justice’s attorney, Paul F. Stone.On November 1, 2010, during oral argument…

“The law can’t be that ridiculous.”

Sunday, November 14th, 2010

These were the words of Judge Richard A. Posner of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of Sabri Samirah v. Eric Holder during oral argument  in Chicago on September 8, 2010. Having gleaned my understanding of the case from the oral argument, these are apparently the facts of the case.