Ruling on drunk driving and deportation [US SC] News
Ruling on drunk driving and deportation [US SC]

Josue Leocal, Petitioner v. John D. Ashcroft, Attorney General, et. al., United States Supreme Court, Chief Justice Rehnquist, November 9, 2004 [ruling that a conviction for drunk driving that results in serious bodily injury is not a "crime of violence" that constitutes an "aggravated felony" under the Immigration and Nationality Act and therefore cannot lead to the deportation of a permanent resident]. Excerpt:

This case does not present us with the question whether a state or federal offense that requires proof of the reckless use of force against a person or property of another qualifies as a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. § 16. DUI statutes such as Florida's do not require any mental state with respect to the use of force against another person, thus reaching individuals who were negligent or less. Drunk driving is a nationwide problem, as evidenced by the efforts of legislatures to prohibit such conduct and impose appropriate penalties. But this fact does not warrant our shoehorning it into statutory sections where it does not fit. The judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit is therefore reversed, and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Read the full text of the opinion here [PDF]. Reported in JURIST's Paper Chase here.