Pubdate: Wed, 24 Apr 2013
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2013 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: David G. Savage
Page: A9

HIGH COURT RULES AGAINST DEPORTATION IN MARIJUANA CASE

Possession of a Small Amount of Pot Is Not an 'Aggravated Felony,'
Justices Conclude.

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court has extended some leniency to legal
immigrants who are convicted of having a small amount of marijuana,
ruling that such a crime is not an "aggravated felony" that leads to
deportation.

In 7-2 decision, the justices said the government must show that a
defendant sold the drugs or possessed a significant quantity for the
crime to be deemed an aggravated felony.

Under the terms of the Immigration and Nationality Act, a noncitizen
who is guilty of an aggravated felony is scheduled for deportation,
regardless of whether he or she has lived legally and productively in
the United States.

But the justices have been wary of seemingly minor state crimes being
treated as though they were serious felonies.

In the case decided Tuesday, a Jamaican man who had lived legally in
Georgia since 1984 was convicted as a first-time drug offender of
possession of marijuana with intent to distribute for having 1.3 grams
in his car.

"That is the equivalent of two or three marijuana cigarettes," said
Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

Although the defendant, Adrian Moncrieffe, was given probation by
Georgia officials, federal authorities said he was subject to
deportation under federal immigration law. They reasoned that
possession of marijuana with an intent to distribute is a
drug-trafficking crime that qualifies as a felony.

Sotomayor, speaking for the court, said this makes no sense in a case
in which the amount of the drug was tiny and there was no evidence
that money changed hands. "Sharing a small amount of marijuana for no
remuneration," she said, "does not fit easily in the everyday
understanding of trafficking, which ordinarily means some sort of
commercial dealing."

"If a noncitizen's conviction for marijuana distribution offense fails
to establish that the offense involved either remuneration or more
than a small amount of marijuana, the conviction is not for an
aggravated felony" under the Immigration and Nationality Act,
Sotomayor said in Moncrieffe vs. Holder.

Sotomayor predicted that the decision would have a relatively limited
effect because possession of small amounts of marijuana has not been
treated as a serious crime in most states.

Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. dissented.

Thomas said drug possession is treated as a felony under Georgia law.
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