March 15, 2010 – Conviction vacated based on an illegal sentence

Facts: A non-citizen defendant pled guilty to the Maryland offense of fourth degree sex crime in 1997. In 2010, he was picked up by ICE and held under the mandatory detention status. His family asked the firm for help.

The firm’s representation: The firm reviewed our client’s case and noticed that at the time of his offense in 1997, he was under the age of 18. Because our client was a minor, the District Court of Maryland could not have assumed jurisdiction over him. The firm filed a motion to vacate an illegal conviction and sentence in the District Court.

Outcome: On March 15, 2010, our client’s conviction was vacated. Several days later, our client was released on ICE bond. Unfortunately, our client chose to commit more crimes while he was on ICE bond and he was eventually deported based on those crimes. So say the least, the firm was very disappointed in our client’s decision to commit more crimes after we put our client in a position to get a green card.