Immigration Victory in the Ninth Circuit
Professor James F. Smith and Supervising Attorney Christopher J. Todd '98 of the UC Davis Immigration Law Clinic successfully argued an immigration case before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The court ruled in Ortega-Mendez v. Gonzales, that battery under California Penal Code 242 was not categorically a crime of violence. Therefore, the Board of Immigration Appeals erred in determining that Ortega-Mendez was ineligible for cancellation of removal on the ground that his 1998 offense was a crime of domestic violence.
June 15, 2006. Ortega-Mendez v. Gonzales opinion