A federal appeals court in Virginia ruled Tuesday that a North Carolina legal maneuver often used to avoid criminal records still counts as a “conviction” in the eyes of immigration officials.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit denied a petition from Vaughn Andre Gardner, a Jamaican citizen who has lived in the United States since he was three years old. The ruling centers on whether a 2009 larceny charge in North Carolina—resolved through a “Prayer for Judgment Continued” (PJC)—was enough to disqualify him from staying in the country.
Gardner argued that the PJC was a deferred resolution that didn’t result in a formal judgment. However, the court found that because a judge required him to perform community service to get that deal, it legally functioned as a punishment.
Under federal immigration law, a conviction is defined as any case where a person pleads guilty and a judge orders “some form of punishment, penalty, or restraint on liberty.”
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Gardner admitted to a separate 2013 larceny conviction but claimed the 2009 incident shouldn’t count against him. He argued that the community service was something he did voluntarily to “earn” a clean record, not a court-imposed penalty.
The three-judge panel in Richmond didn’t buy it.
“By conditioning the PJC on the completion of community service as required by the court, the court imposes a restraint upon the defendant’s liberty and imposes punishment,” Judge Stephanie Thacker wrote in the court’s opinion. “It makes no difference whether the required community service takes place before or after the PJC issues.”
Gardner had applied for “cancellation of removal,” a process that allows long-term residents to avoid deportation. However, federal law bars anyone with two or more “crimes involving moral turpitude” from receiving that relief.
During oral arguments, Gardner’s legal team explained that in North Carolina, judges have the discretion to decide where a person does community service and for how many hours. The court noted that because this service is discretionary and intended to “discipline or deter,” it meets the federal definition of a punitive sanction.
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The decision brings the Fourth Circuit in line with several other federal appeals courts across the country. By ruling that community service is a form of punishment, the court effectively shut the door on Gardner’s ability to fight his removal.
“The record evidence here demonstrates that the North Carolina court entered the PJC upon completion of community service,” the court concluded. “We find that order to be punitive.”
The ruling was unanimous, with Judges Allison Jones Rushing and DeAndrea Gist Benjamin joining Judge Thacker’s opinion.
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