Garcia-Morales
United States v. Garcia-Morales
Opinion
Lead Opinion
Honcuriel, J.
ORDER GRANTING MOTION TO DISMISS INDICTMENT DUE TO INVALID DEPORTATION
Before the Court is Defendant Jose Luis Garcia-Morales’ (“Defendant”) October 16, 2015 motion to dismiss his indictment due to invalid deportation. Def. Mot., ECF No. 33. The motion has been fully briefed. Pl. Resp., ECF No. 34; Def. Reply, ECF No. 35. Upon consideration of the moving papers and the applicable law, the Court hereby GRANTS Defendant’s motion to dismiss Count 1 of the indictment.
FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Defendant is a 60-year-old native and citizen of Mexico who became á legal permanent resident of the United States in 1989. On January 28, 1993, Defendant was convicted under Cal. Penal Code § 288 (a) for sexually molesting his 13-year-old niece. See Nov. 15, 2004 BIA Order (“First BIA Order”) 2, Def. Mot., Ex. C. Following a guilty plea, Defendant served 8 months in prison and was registered as a sex offender. Id; see also Def. Mot., Ex. L. On January 20, 2004, the legacy Immigration and Naturalization Service (“INS”) initiated removal proceedings against Defendant based on the 1993 conviction, which was an aggravated felony. See Notice of Removal Proceedings, Def. Mot, Ex.…