Take the Fifth: Jan. 27, 2021 opinions

Posted on by tadbartlett

Designated for publication

  • Munoz-Rivera v. Wilkinson, 19-60376, petition for review of BIA order
    • per curiam (Owen, Graves, Ho), immigration
    • Dismissing petition for review of cancellation of removal order upon determining that “the use of an unauthorized social security number constitutes a crime involving moral turpitude (CIMT) such that petitioner is ineligible for cancellation of his removal to Mexico.”
    • The Court repeated its previously stated standard as to what constitutes a CIMT: “Moral turpitude refers generally to conduct that shocks the public conscience as being inherently base, vile, or depraved, and contrary to the accepted rules of morality and the duties owed between persons or to society in general. Moral turpitude has been defined as an act which is per se morally reprehensible and intrinsically wrong, or malum in se, so it is the nature of the act itself and not the statutory prohibition of it which renders a crime one of moral turpitude. Among the tests to determine if a crime involves moral turpitude is whether the act is accompanied by a vicious motive or a corrupt mind.”
    • Under this standard, the Court recognized that the crime of unauthorized use of a social security number “necessarily involves intentional deception: a person commits the offense if, ‘with intent to deceive,’ she ‘falsely represents a number to be the social security account number . . assigned . . . to [her] or to another person’ when that number has not been assigned to her or such other person.” The Court held that no further aggravating factor is required, that “deceptive intent is sufficient for an offense to constitute a CIMT.”

Unpublished

  • Philius v. Pekoske, 19-30800, appeal from W.D. La.
    • per curiam (Davis, Stewart, Dennis), habeas corpus
    • Affirming dismissal of § 2241 petition for lack of jurisdiction.
  • U.S. v. Hall, 19-30838, appeal from W.D. La.
    • per curiam (Davis, Stewart, Dennis), criminal, search and seizure, sentencing
    • Affirming conviction on conditional guilty plea of being a felon in possession of a firearm, affirming denial of motion to suppress, and affirming sentence of 108 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised release.
  • U.S. v. Hollie, 20-10638, appeal from N.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Clement, Higginson, Engelhardt), criminal, sentencing
    • Granting summary affirmance of 108-month sentence imposed following conviction for interference with commerce by robbery.