Hernandez De Anderson v. Gonzales

I. Background

Petitioner is a 64-year-old native and citizen of Mexico. She became a lawful permanent resident of the United States thirty-four years ago, on May 15, 1973, based on her marriage to a United States citizen whom she had met while she was living in Mexico.

On June 3, 1981, Petitioner shot her husband multiple times at close range, but did not kill him. Petitioner was charged under California law with attempted murder and with dis- charging a firearm at an inhabited dwelling. Petitioner’s defense at trial was that she had shot her husband in self- defense. She testified that her husband was a heavy drinker 9476 HERNANDEZ DE ANDERSON v. GONZALES who had subjected her to years of abuse. At the time of the shooting, she was in the process of getting a divorce. She was staying in a women’s shelter, but on the day of the shooting came back to the family home to retrieve some of her belong- ings. Petitioner testified that her husband threatened to “blow her brains out” and that she shot him in the driveway before he could get his gun from his car.

The jury declined to convict Petitioner of attempted mur- der. Instead, it returned convictions for attempted…