Dolgosheev v. Attorney General of the United States

436 F. App'x 91
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedJuly 8, 2011
DocketNo. 10-3734
StatusPublished

This text of 436 F. App'x 91 (Dolgosheev v. Attorney General of the United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dolgosheev v. Attorney General of the United States, 436 F. App'x 91 (3d Cir. 2011).

Opinion

OPINION

PER CURIAM.

Maxim Dolgosheev, a native and citizen of Ukraine, entered the United States as a teenager in 1995 and became a lawful permanent resident in 1997. In 2005, on his guilty plea, he was convicted of (1) conspiracy to engage in trademark counterfeiting and copyright infringement in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371; (2) trademark counterfeiting in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2320(a); and (3) two counts of copyright infringement in violation of 17 U.S.C. § 506(a)(1) and 18 U.S.C. § 2319(b)(1). The convictions stemmed from Dolgosheev’s involve[92]*92ment in producing and selling counterfeit Microsoft software from approximately June 1998 through July 2001.

The Government subsequently charged Dolgosheev with removability, citing his crimes and contending he was removable on several grounds, including having been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude (“CIMT”), namely trademark counterfeiting in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2320(a), committed within five years of the date of admission and for which a sentence of one year or longer may be imposed. Dolgosheev denied the charges of removability and filed a motion to terminate the removal proceedings. The Immigration Judge (“IJ”) denied the motion, concluding that Dolgosheev was removable on the CIMT charge. The Board of Immigration Appeals (“BIA”) dismissed Dol-gosheev’s subsequent appeal. Dolgosheev presents a petition for review.

We have jurisdiction pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1252(a). We review questions of law de novo, see Gerbier v. Holmes, 280 F.3d 297, 302 n. 2 (3d Cir.2002), including the question of what elements of a federal criminal statute implicate moral turpitude, see Knapik v. Ashcroft, 384 F.3d 84, 88 (3d Cir.2004). However, we “clearly afford Chevron deference to the BIA’s definition of ‘moral turpitude.’ ” Id. at 88 n. 3. That is, we consider whether the BIA’s ruling was based on “a permissible construction of the statute” in light of Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Res. Def. Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837, 104 S.Ct. 2778, 81 L.Ed.2d 694 (1984). See id. at 87.

Dolgosheev argues that the BIA erred in concluding that he committed a CIMT because the BIA did not conduct the required categorical analysis and because the minimum conduct required for his conviction is not a CIMT. Dolgosheev was convicted of trademark counterfeiting in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2320(a). The statute provides:

In general. Whoever[;] intentionally traffics or attempts to traffic in goods or services and knowingly uses a counterfeit mark on or in connection with such goods or services, or intentionally traffics or attempts to traffic in labels, patches, stickers, wrappers, badges, emblems, medallions, charms, boxes, containers, cans, cases, hangtags, documentation, or packaging of any type or nature, knowing that a counterfeit mark has been applied thereto, the use of which is likely to cause confusion, to cause mistake, or to deceive, shall, if an individual, be fined not more than $ 2,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both....

18 U.S.C. § 2320(a). The term “counterfeit mark” is defined primarily as follows:

(A) a spurious mark—
(i) that is used in connection with trafficking in any goods, services, ... or packaging of any type or nature;
(ii) that is identical with, or substantially indistinguishable from, a mark registered on the principal register in the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in use, whether or not the defendant knew such mark was so registered;
(iii) that is applied to or used in connection with the goods or services for which the mark is registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office ...; and
(iv) the use of which is likely to cause confusion, to cause mistake, or to deceive

18 U.S.C. § 2320(e). (1984).

In Dolgosheev’s case, the BIA relied on Matter of Kochlani, 24 I. & N. Dec. 128 (BIA 2007), which held that a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2320 constitutes a CIMT. Dol-gosheev argues that Matter of Kochlani was wrongly decided because its holding that violations of 18 U.S.C. § 2320 are [93]*93inherently fraudulent is not based on the categorical approach that this Court requires.

Considering this statute in Matter of Kochlani, the BIA identified the hallmarks of a CIMT, specifically, an offense that “necessarily entails conduct ... that is inherently base, vile, or depraved, and contrary to accepted rules of morality and the duties owed between persons or to society in general.” 24 I. & N. Dec. at 129 (citation omitted). That description is the commonly accepted one that we use. See Jean-Louis v. Attorney Gen. of the United States, 582 F.3d 462, 465-66 (3d Cir.2009) (citation omitted).

Despite Dolgosheev’s argument to the contrary, the approach taken by the BIA tracks the categorical approach that we accept. Under the categorical approach, whether a crime is a CIMT is determined by the criminal statute and the record of conviction. See Partyka v. Attorney Gen. of the United States, 417 F.3d 408, 412 (3d Cir.2005). As we advise, see id., the BIA read the applicable statute to ascertain the least culpable conduct necessary to sustain a conviction. The BIA observed that to support a conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 2320, the federal prosecutor must necessarily prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant intentionally trafficked or attempted to traffic in goods or services and, in doing so, knowingly used a spurious trademark that was likely to confuse or deceive others. See Matter of Kochlani, 24 I. & N. Dec. at 130.

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436 F. App'x 91, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dolgosheev-v-attorney-general-of-the-united-states-ca3-2011.