United States v. Gayle

996 F. Supp. 2d 42, 2014 WL 320372, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10594
CourtDistrict Court, D. Connecticut
DecidedJanuary 29, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 3:12-CV-1516 (VLB)
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 996 F. Supp. 2d 42 (United States v. Gayle) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Gayle, 996 F. Supp. 2d 42, 2014 WL 320372, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10594 (D. Conn. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION GRANTING PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT [Dkt. 9]

VANESSA L. BRYANT, District Judge.

I. Introduction

The United States brings this denatural-ization action against Defendant Rory De-cordova Gayle, a naturalized U.S. citizen, pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1751(a), on two independent grounds: (1) the Defendant lacked good moral character during the statutory period, and, therefore, was ineligible to naturalize and did so unlawfully; and (2) the Defendant willfully misrepresented and concealed material facts about his criminal conduct during the naturalization process with Immigration and Naturalization Services (“INS”). For the following reasons, the Plaintiffs motion for summary judgment is GRANTED.

II. Background

Mr. Gayle was born in Jamaica in 1969 and entered the United States on August 17, 1979 as a lawful permanent resident. [Dkt. 9-1, Memorandum of Law in Support of Plaintiffs Motion for Summary Judgment, p. 3; Dkt. 9-1, Immigration Visa and Alien Registration, p. 1]. On January 8, 1999, Gayle, still then a lawful permanent resident of the United States, filed a Form N-400 Application for Naturalization (“N-400”) with the INS. [Dkt. 9-11, Local Rule 56(a)l Statement, ¶ 2; Dkt. 9-2, N-400 Application for Naturalization, p. 4]. Question 15a of Form N-400 asks: “Have you ever ... knowingly committed any crime for which you have not been arrested?” Gayle answered “No” to that question. [Dkt. 9-11, ¶ 3; Dkt. 9-2, p. 3]. By signature dated January 4, 1999, Gayle signed his N-400 under penalty of perjury, thereby swearing or affirming that the contents of the application, including his response to Question 15a, were true and correct. [Dkt. 9-11, ¶ 4; Dkt. 9-2, p. 4], On June 21, 1999, Gayle was interviewed under oath by INS District Adjudications Officer (“DAO”) Peggy Keck. [Dkt. 9-11, ¶ 5; Dkt. 9-2, p. 4; Dkt. 9-3, Declaration of Peggy Keck, ¶ 5]. As a matter of practice, DAOs routinely ask the same questions of naturalization applicants, including orally reviewing questions and answers contained in the applicant’s N-400. [Dkt. 9-11, ¶ 6; Dkt. 9-3, ¶ 7], After asking Mr. Gayle selected questions from his N-400, DAO Keck recorded three corrections and advised him, as she did all applicants for naturalization, that if he swore that all of the information provided on the application was true and correct, including the corrections, that he should sign his full and complete name, attesting to the accuracy of the responses and information provided on the application. [Dkt. 9-11, ¶ 7; Dkt. 9-3, ¶ 9]. Gayle affirmed his understanding and signed the N-400 swearing for the second time that the content of the application, including his response to question 15a, was true and correct. [Dkt. 9-11, ¶ 7; Dkt. 9-2, p. 4; Dkt. 9-3. ¶ 9],

[47]*47On June 30, 1999, Gayle’s N-400 was approved, based on Ms sworn responses to the questions on the form, supporting documentation he provided, and his testimony at the interview. [Dkt. 9-11, ¶ 8; Dkt. 9-2, p. 1; Dkt. 9-3, ¶¶ 9-10], On August 6, 1999, Gayle appeared at the federal courthouse in Hartford, Connecticut, for his naturalization oath ceremony. [Dkt. 9-11, ¶ 9; Dkt. 9-4, Form N-445 Notice of Naturalization Oath Ceremony], Gayle presented INS authorities with his completed N4145 Form, including an answer to Question 3 which asked Gayle whether, since the date of his initial naturalization interview, “[h]ave you knowingly committed any crime or offense, [sic] for which you have not been arrested; or you have been arrested, cited, charged, indicted, convicted, fined, or imprisoned for breaking or violating any la or ordinance, including traffic violations?” [Dkt. 9-11, ¶ 10; Dkt. 9-4, p. 2], Gayle answered “[n]o” to this question. [Dkt. 9-11, ¶ 10; Dkt. 9-4, p. 2]. Because Gayle certified that there was no new information that would render him ineligible to naturalize, he was administered the oath of allegiance and was naturalized. [Dkt. 9-11, ¶ 12; Dkt. 9-3, ¶ 11; Dkt. 9-5, Certificate of Naturalization No. 24401225].

On April 27, 2000, Gayle made a three page sworn statement to the Windsor Police Department in Connecticut, confessing to sexually abusing his minor niece on multiple occasions beginning two to three years prior. [Dkt. 9-11, at ¶ 13; Dkt. 9-8, Police Confession, p. 1-3]. On October 30, 2000, Gayle appeared in Connecticut Superior Court and pleaded guilty to two counts of Sexual Assault in the First Degree against a minor, in violation of Conn. GemStat. § 53a-70(a)(2), for crimes committed between November of 1996 and September 1999. [Dkt. 9-11, ¶ 14; Dkt. 9-6, Superior Court Information and Disposition, p. 1; Dkt. 9-7, Plea Colloquy Transcript, p. 2-3, 7-10]. After a thorough canvass, the court accepted Gayle’s plea as knowing, intelligent, and voluntary. [Dkt. 9-11, ¶ 15; Dkt. 9-7, 2-22]. Gayle was sentenced to twenty years’ incarceration with fifteen years to serve and the remainder suspended, a ten-year period of probation, and lifetime registration as a sex offender. [Dkt. 9-1, p. 5; Dkt. 9-6, p. 1, 3-4]. Gayle is currently incarcerated at the Osborne Correctional Institution located in Somers, Connecticut with a maximum release date of July 14, 2014. [Dkt. 9-1, p. 6; Dkt. 9-9, Department of Correction Inmate Information, p. 1],

The INS claims that had the Defendant represented on his Form N-400, at his interview, or on his Form N-445 that he had committed this crime within the five-year statutory period in which good moral character must be established even though he had not been arrested, he would not have been permitted to naturalize. [Dkt. 9-11, ¶ 16]. Accordingly, the United States filed this civil action to revoke Gayle’s naturalization pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1451(a) on October 24, 2012. In response, Gayle’s family members in Connecticut have communicated with government counsel, but the Defendant has failed to appear in this matter and has not filed any response to the government’s petition.

III. Legal Standard

Summary judgment should be granted “if the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). The moving party bears the burden of proving that no factual issues exist. Vivenzio v. City of Syracuse, 611 F.3d 98, 106 (2d Cir.2010). “In determining whether that burden has been met, the court is required to resolve all ambiguities and credit all factual inferences that could be drawn in favor of the party against whom summary [48]*48judgment is sought.” Id. (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986); Matsushita Electric Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986)). “If there is any evidence in the record that could reasonably support a jury’s verdict for the nonmoving party, summary judgment must be denied.” Am. Home Assurance Co. v. Hapag Lloyd Container Linie, GmbH,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
996 F. Supp. 2d 42, 2014 WL 320372, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10594, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-gayle-ctd-2014.