Criminal Law Another criminal offense question

[zeke99]

A friend is a green card holder in the U.S. legally. She recently broke up with a boyfriend here in the U.S. and things turned ugly.

The ex and his family are now pressing a series of charges against her...the merits of which are questionable. Most of this relates to what I would call lover's quarrels, and led to her breaking up with this man.

One is simple battery
One is aggravated assault
One is criminal trespass

She has a series of hearings coming up shortly. We are working with a criminal defense attorney at the moment, but my question relates to how this may or may not affect her green card status. She lives in Georgia.

We feel we have a good chance to prevail, but we also believe the motive behind bringing these charges is revenge and an attempt to have her deported.

What are the possible consequences should she be convicted of any or all of these charges as it relates to her green card status.

Thanks in advance for any information or insight.

 

[NYClex]

You want to make sure that your attorney is aware of the implications of any conviction for her immigrant status!

Basicaly the rule is this:

An alien (LPR) is deportable when convicted for the following crimes :

-crimes of moral turpitude where within 5 years of her arrival she was convicted and where the possible sentence could have been more than one year
-more than one conviction for a crime of moral turpitude not arising out of the same matter
-any aggravated felony
-and some more which are not applicable here
-any domestic violence crime

So, the problem I see is with the charge of aggravated assault if it is in a domestic setting. This is not only interpreted as a crime of moral turpitude, it is also an aggravated felony. If she would be convicted of this she would be deportable.

So to be sure there won't be any adverse problems for the immigration status your attorney should try to get this count dismissed, often prosecutors can be dealt with to turn it into a charge of battery or simple assault. Battery, as long as it is not aggravated, is not considered a crime of moral turpitude. But look for any "domestic" or "aggravated" addition to the charge, that will turn it into a crime of moral turpitude. Simple assault in a domestic setting can be a problem, too.

Criminal trespass should not be a problem.

So, there is some work to do for her lawyer.

 

[mathilda]

You want to make sure that your attorney is aware of the implications of any conviction for her immigrant status!

Basicaly the rule is this:

An alien (LPR) is deportable when convicted for the following crimes :

-crimes of moral turpitude where within 5 years of her arrival she was convicted and where the possible sentence could have been more than one year

What about if the sentence carries a MAXIMUM penalty of one year? Does it have to be one year or more than one year? I see different wordings for this on various sites and I have received different answers from different lawyers.