Leonardo Conejo-Bravo v. Jefferson Sessions


FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT LEONARDO CONEJO-BRAVO, No. 13-72280 Petitioner, Agency No. v. A095-685-819 JEFFERSON B. SESSIONS III, Attorney General, OPINION Respondent. On Petition for Review of an Order of the Board of Immigration Appeals Submitted November 9, 2017 * Pasadena, California Filed November 17, 2017 Before: Harry Pregerson, Jacqueline H. Nguyen, and John B. Owens, Circuit Judges. Opinion by Judge Owens * The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). This case is resubmitted as of November 9, 2017. 2 CONEJO-BRAVO V. SESSIONS SUMMARY ** Immigration The panel denied Leonardo Conejo-Bravo’s petition for review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ decision that his felony hit and run conviction under California Vehicle Code § 20001(a) was a crime involving moral turpitude that rendered him ineligible for cancellation of removal. The panel reaffirmed that California Vehicle Code § 20001(a) is divisible into several crimes some of which may involve moral turpitude and some of which may not. Applying the modified categorical approach, the panel noted that Conejo-Bravo admitted in his plea agreement that he was involved in a car accident that led to injury. The panel therefore concluded that the elements of his conviction made out a felony conviction for traditional hit and run causing injuries that qualifies as a crime involving moral turpitude under current controlling precedent. COUNSEL David W. Williams, Santa Ana, California, for Petitioner. Tim Ramnitz, Attorney; Jennifer P. Levings, Senior Litigation Counsel; Office of Immigration Litigation, Civil Division, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.; for Respondent. ** This summary constitutes no part of the opinion of the court. It has been prepared by court staff for the convenience of the reader. CONEJO-BRAVO V. SESSIONS 3 OPINION OWENS, Circuit Judge: Petitioner Leonardo Conejo-Bravo (“Petitioner”) seeks review of the Board of Immigration Appeals’ (“BIA”) decision that his felony hit and run conviction under California Vehicle Code section 20001(a) was a crime involving moral turpitude (“CIMT”) that rendered him ineligible for cancellation of removal under § 240A(b)(1) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”). We have jurisdiction under 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a)(1). Applying current “modified categorical approach” precedent, we conclude that the conviction at issue qualifies as a CIMT, and deny the petition. I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY Petitioner, a Mexican national, entered the United States without inspection in 1995. He is married with three United States citizen children. A. The Crime On November 20, 2005, Petitioner was involved in a car accident that injured another person. He fled the scene without assisting the injured person or providing his contact or insurance information. About a week later, he was charged in a three-count criminal complaint for violating California Vehicle Code section 20001(a) – felony hit and run – and two less serious offenses – driving without a valid license and failure to provide proof of insurance after an accident. 4 CONEJO-BRAVO V. SESSIONS On December 13, 2005, Petitioner pled guilty to ...

Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals