Opinion ID: 2349828
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Deportation

Text: While appellant is correct that an alien [4] can be deported after being convicted of a crime of domestic violence, his actions in this case do not fit the definition which makes a person deportable. See 8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)(2)(E)(i) (2000). In defining the term crime of domestic violence, this statute requires that the criminal act be committed by a current or former spouse of the [victim] ... [or] an individual with whom the [victim] shares a child in common ... [or] an individual who is cohabiting with or has cohabited with [the victim] as a spouse. Appellant fits into none of these categories. In his brief appellant claims that he had an intimate relationship with Ms. Cilaire, but that type of relationship, without more, does not make a person deportable under the statute. Moreover, any type of intimacy was denied by both appellant and Ms. Cilaire in their testimony, [5] and there is no other evidence that they were intimate. Finally, even if appellant could be deported for his conviction, administrative deportation proceedings do not raise an otherwise petty offense to the level requiring a jury trial. See Foote v. United States, 670 A.2d 366, 372 (D.C.1996). [6]