Esquivel-Quintana v. Sessions

Esquivel-Quintana v. Sessions
Argued February 27, 2017
Decided May 30, 2017
Full case name Juan Esquivel-Quintana, Petitioner v. Jefferson B. Sessions III, Attorney General
Docket nos. 16–54
Citations 581 U.S. ___ (more)
Opinion announcement Opinion announcement
Prior history Appeal of deportation order dismissed 26 I&N Dec. 469 (B.I.A., 2015), appeal dismissed 810 F.3d 1019 (6th Cir., 2016).
Holding
In the context of statutory rape offenses that criminalize sexual intercourse based solely on the ages of the participants, the generic federal definition of “sexual abuse of a minor” requires the age of the victim to be less than 16. Reversed and remanded.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
Anthony Kennedy · Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Samuel Alito · Sonia Sotomayor
Elena Kagan · Neil Gorsuch
Case opinions
Majority Thomas, joined by Roberts, Kennedy, Ginsburg, Breyer, Alito, Sotomayor, Kagan
Gorsuch took no part in the consideration or decision of the case.

Esquivel-Quintana v. Sessions, 581 U.S. ___ (2017), is a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled 8–0 that in the context of statutory rape offenses that criminalize sexual intercourse based solely on the ages of the participants, the generic federal definition of “sexual abuse of a minor” requires the age of the victim to be less than 16.[1] Justice Clarence Thomas delivered the majority opinion.[2]

Background

Petitioner, a citizen of Mexico and lawful permanent resident of the United States, pleaded no contest in a California court to a statutory rape offense criminalizing “unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor who is more than three years younger than the perpetrator.”[3] For purposes of that offense, California defines “minor” as “a person under the age of 18.”[4] Based on this conviction, the Department of Homeland Security initiated removal proceedings under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which makes removable “[a]ny alien who is convicted of an aggravated felony,” 8 U.S.C. §1227(a)(2)(A)(iii), including “sexual abuse of a minor,” §1101(a)(43)(A).[5] An Immigration Judge ordered petitioner removed to Mexico.[5] The Board of Immigration Appeals agreed that petitioner’s crime constituted sexual abuse of a minor and dismissed his appeal.[6] A divided Court of Appeals denied his petition for review.[5]

Opinion of the Court

The Supreme Court examined whether a conviction under a state statute criminalizing consensual sexual intercourse between a 21-year-old and a 17-year-old qualifies as sexual abuse of a minor under the INA.[7] The Court held that it did not.[8]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Esquivel-Quintana v. Sessions, No. 16–54, 581 U.S. ___ (2017), slip op. at 1, 12.
  2. ↑ Esquivel-Quintana, slip op. at 1.
  3. ↑ Esquivel-Quintana, slip op. at 1-2.
  4. ↑ Esquivel-Quintana, slip op. at 2 (citing Cal. Penal Code Ann. §261.5(c) (West 2014)).
  5. 1 2 3 Esquivel-Quintana, slip op. at 2.
  6. ↑ Esquivel-Quintana, slip op. at 2 ("In its view, the 3-year age difference required by Cal. Penal Code §261.5(c) was meaningful.").
  7. ↑ Esquivel-Quintana, slip op. at 4-11.
  8. ↑ Esquivel-Quintana, slip op. at 12.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.