Erwin Estuardo Garcia-Lopez v. John Ashcroft, Attorney General

Erwin Estuardo Garcia-Lopez petitions from a final order of deportation entered by the Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”). Garcia-Lopez contends that the BIA erred when it determined that he was ineligible for suspension of deportation under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)’s “petty offense” exception. See 8 U.S.C. § 1182 (a)(2)(A)(ii)(II) (1996). Specifically, Garcia-Lopez asserts that his guilty plea conviction pursuant to a California “wobbler” statute, under which the offense may be treated as either a misdemeanor or a felony, did not result in a conviction of a crime for which the maximum penalty exceeds imprisonment for one year. Because we determine that the state court’s declaration that Garcia-Lopez’s offense was a misdemeanor is binding on Garcia-Lopez’s subsequent immigration proceedings, we reverse.

I.

Garcia-Lopez is a native and citizen of Guatemala. When he was a child, his biological mother died as a result of being beaten by his stepfather. Thereafter, Garcia-Lopez was raised by his aunt, Erma Lopez, whom he now looks upon as his mother. In 1983, Ms. Lopez came to the United States. In 1985, Garcia-Lopez and his cousin David, Ms. Lopez’s son, came to…