Source: http://openjurist.org/374/f3d/46/marrero-pichardo-v-ashcroft-us-ins
Timestamp: 2013-12-08 10:17:20
Document Index: 502113915

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1192', '§ 1227', '§ 1192', '§ 16', '§ 1192', '§ 1231', '§ 1182']

374 F3d 46 Marrero Pichardo v. Ashcroft US Ins | OpenJurist
374 F. 3d 46 - Marrero Pichardo v. Ashcroft US Ins	Home374 f3d 46 marrero pichardo v. ashcroft us ins
374 F3d 46 Marrero Pichardo v. Ashcroft US Ins 374 F.3d 46
Ramon Antonio MARRERO PICHARDO, Plaintiff-Appellant,v.John ASHCROFT, U.S. Attorney General, Immigration and Naturalization Service, Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization, INS District Director for New York City, Defendants-Appellees.
Docket No. 02-2201.
Michael G. Moore,1 Springfield, MA, (Ishmael Gonzales, New York, NY, on the brief) for Plaintiff-Appellant.
Steven J. Kim, Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York (Roslynn R. Mauskopf, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Varuni Nelson, Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, on the brief), Brooklyn, NY, for Defendants-Appellees.
Ramon Antonio Marrero Pichardo, a native and citizen of the Dominican Republic, was admitted to the United States as a lawful permanent resident on March 5, 1975. Pichardo's wife and 22 year-old daughter both reside in Brooklyn, New York. His sister and brother-in-law also live in the United States, and Pichardo claims to have no ties to the Dominican Republic. Between October 26, 1975 and September 21, 1999, he was convicted eleven times in New York state courts for driving while under the influence of alcohol ("DUI"), receiving sentences which included fines, probation, and terms of imprisonment ranging from one to three years.
Based on Pichardo's November 25, 1992 and September 21, 1999 DUI convictions, in violation of New York Vehicle and Traffic Law ("NYVTL") § 1192, the Immigration and Naturalization Services ("INS") instituted proceedings to deport Pichardo as a person who had committed an "aggravated felony" pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii). On August 28, 2000, United States Immigration Judge Joe Miller ("IJ") found Pichardo removable for having been convicted of an aggravated felony, and ordered his removal to the Dominican Republic. Pichardo, appearing pro se, did not appeal the decision to the Board of Immigration Appeals ("BIA").
On July 20, 2001, the Second Circuit held that "a felony DUI conviction under NYVTL § 1192.3 does not amount to a `crime of violence' under 18 U.S.C. § 16(b) for purposes of defining an `aggravated felony[.]'" Dalton v. Ashcroft, 257 F.3d 200, 208 (2d Cir.2001) ("Dalton").2 This court reversed the BIA decision rejecting a claim that a New York state DUI conviction, pursuant to NYVTL § 1192, was a "crime of violence." Id. at 203. The BIA's decision was issued on May 17, 2000, approximately three months prior to the entry of Pichardo's deportation order. Id.
On October 12, 2001, Pichardo, now represented by counsel, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York by order to show cause. Remarkably, the petition did not cite Dalton. Instead, it raised two specious arguments. Pichardo's first argument wrongly asserted that he was subject to an order of deportation because of weapons and controlled substance convictions, not his DUI convictions. His second argument was that his post-deportation order detention was unlawful because it exceeded the 90-day "removal period" required by 8 U.S.C. § 1231(a)(1)(B). On December 10, 2001, the government by letter urged the district court to reject Pichardo's petition.
This Court "review[s] a district court's denial of habeas relief de novo, but we review its findings of fact only for clear error." Tueros v. Greiner, 343 F.3d 587, 590 (2d Cir.2003) (citations omitted). Further, "we review the question of whether the district court had subject matter jurisdiction in this case de novo." Theodoropoulos v. INS, 358 F.3d 162, 167 (2d Cir.2004) ("Theodoropoulos II"), petition for cert. filed (April 12, 2004) (No. 03-9866).
As a preliminary matter, we briefly note that, contrary to the government's contention on appeal, Pichardo's appeal is not moot. A case becomes moot when it no longer satisfies the "case-or-controversy" requirement of Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution. See Spencer v. Kemna, 523 U.S. 1, 7, 118 S.Ct. 978, 140 L.Ed.2d 43 (1998). In order to satisfy this requirement, the petitioner must, at all stages of the litigation, have suffered, or be threatened with, an actual injury which is likely to be redressed by a favorable judicial decision. See id. The government claims that even if Pichardo's DUI convictions are no longer a valid basis for deportation, his other criminal convictions involving narcotics and weapons possession render him permanently inadmissible pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(II). Thus, the government argues, Pichardo's case is moot because even if he were to prevail on appeal, he would still be removed for a wholly separate and independent reason. However, the government has been unable to furnish any tangible or reliable evidence establishing that these other convictions exist.3 Indeed, according to the government's correspondence of December 12, 2003, there is no record of these other convictions. Ltr. from Asst. U.S. Atty. Kim to the Court, 12/12/03, at 1. A recent printout of Pichardo's criminal record from the National Crime Information Center does not list these convictions, and the government is "not aware of any other source for information about these convictions...." Id. We also note that Pichardo's deportation to the Dominican Republic in February 2002 does not moot his appeal. See Swaby v. Ashcroft, 357 F.3d 156, 159-60 (2d Cir.2004). Accordingly, the government's claim that Pichardo's appeal is moot is dismissed.
There remain, however, three significant procedural bars to Pichardo's appeal: (1) Pichardo failed to appeal his deportation ord