These summaries are not intended as legal advice. Please contact a licensed attorney to discuss the specifics of your case.
Viewing entries tagged
voluntary manslaughter
The Eighth Circuit has affirmed that a federal conviction for voluntary manslaughter qualifies as a crime of violence because the mens rea of “depraved heart” or “extreme recklessness” is sufficient to establish a use of force against the person of another.
The full text of Brewer v. US can be found here:
The Ninth Circuit has determined that a federal conviction for voluntary manslaughter is a crime of violence. In a footnote, the court noted that its caselaw determining that California’s voluntary manslaughter statute is not a crime of violence is no longer tenable in light of intervening caselaw.
The full text of US v. Draper can be found here:
https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2023/10/17/17-15104.pdf
The Ninth Circuit has determined that a California conviction for voluntary manslaughter is a crime involving moral turpitude because it requires at least reckless conduct and serious harm (death of the victim).
The full text of Ortiz Narez v. Garland can be found here:
https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2022/02/16/19-72039.pdf
The Board of Immigration Appeals (Board) has determined that a California conviction for attempted voluntary manslaughter is a crime of violence aggravated felony, even though the completed offense of voluntary manslaughter is not. The Board noted that California courts have held that attempted voluntary manslaughter cannot be premised on the theory that a defendant acted with conscious disregard for life, because it would be based on the internally contradictory premise that one can intend to commit a reckless killing. Instead, a person who commits attempted voluntary manslaughter must act with the specific intent to kill another person. The specific intent to kill, in turn, necessarily involves the volitional use of force. Thus, the attempt crime does not suffer form the same overbreadth with respect to mens rea as the completed offense, which can entail reckless conduct.
The full text of Matter of Cervantes Nunez can be found here:
The Eighth Circuit has determined that an Oklahoma conviction for voluntary manslaughter qualifies as a violent felony under the residual clause of the federal sentencing guidelines. Given the similarity between the residual clause and the definition of a crime of violence in 8 USC 16(b), this case could have persuasive impact on immigration proceedings in circuits that have not struck down 8 USC 16(b) as unconstitutionally vague.
The full text of US v. Steward can be found here:
http://media.ca8.uscourts.gov/opndir/18/01/163886P.pdf
The Ninth Circuit held that California's voluntary manslaughter statute, which can be violated through reckless conduct, does not qualify as a crime of violence, which requires the intentional use of force. In addition, the court held that a claim for protection under the Convention Against Torture must be evaluated "in terms of the aggregate risk of torture from all sources, and not as separate, divisible CAT claims." Thus, the agency erred by failing to consider the aggregate risk of torture posed to the petitioner by both his status as a criminal deportee and his family affiliation.
The full text of Quijada-Aguilar v. Lynch can be found here: http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2015/09/01/12-70070.pdf
