Court Opinion

ID: 9491982
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 14:29:14.965987+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:55:02.747196
License: Public Domain

BEEZER, Circuit Judge,
dissenting:
I respectfully dissent from the court’s opinion vacating the BIA’s decision. Although I agree that we have jurisdiction to review the petition, I would hold that Lafar-ga does not qualify for the petty offense exception because she was convicted of a felony that carried a penalty in excess of one year imprisonment.
The petty offense exception to a crime involving moral turpitude contains a two-part test. See 8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(A)(ii)(II). The exception does not apply to an individual who committed only one crime if (1) “the maximum penalty possible for the crime of which the alien was convicted ... did not exceed imprisonment for one year”, and (2) the individual “was not sentenced to a term of imprisonment in excess of 6 months_” Id. Lafarga fails to meet the first part of the test because she was convicted of a class 6 felony — a crime for which the statutory term of imprisonment is one and one-half years. See Ariz.Rev.Stat. § 13-701(C) (1989) (term of imprisonment for a class 6 felony is one and one-half years).1
Upon acceptance of Lafarga’s guilty plea to theft in violation of Ariz.Rev.Stat. § 13-1802(A) (1989), the state court convicted her of a felony. Three factors support this conclusion.
First, Lafarga was ordered to pay a $100 felony assessment as part of her sentence. Second, Lafarga acknowledged on her appli*1217cation to vacate the judgment of guilt that “the above stated judgment of guilt and conviction for a felony is the Defendant’s first felony conviction.” Third, the statute that enables the state to designate her conviction as a misdemeanor after completing the conditions of her probation only applies to individuals “convicted of any class 6 felony.” Ariz. Rev.Stat. § 13-702(H) (1989). The statute also states that “[t]he offense shall be treated as a felony for all purposes until such time as the court may actually enter an order designating the offense a misdemeanor.” Id.
Although the state court later designated Lafarga’s offense as a misdemeanor, she was originally convicted of a felony. The BIA correctly determined that the statutory penalty possible for this crime was one and one-half years and that Lafarga did not qualify for the exception.
I would deny the petition for review..

. The imprisonment term for a class 6 felony was amended to one year, effective January 1, 1994. Because Lafarga was convicted on December 20, 1993, the amendment is inapplicable.