Court-Martial Trial Practice Blog
Since Denedo, and definitely since Padilla, military defense counsel must tell a client about the potential for deportation.
A former U.S. Marine from Jamaica who was convicted by special court-martial of having sex with a girl younger than 16 is eligible for deportation, the Third Circuit ruled.
Gurson Gourzong, a native of Jamaica, was admitted to the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident in 1983, and thereafter joined the U.S. Marine Corps.
A decade later, he was convicted by special court-martial at Camp Pendelton for willfully disobeying a lawful order, and committing a sex act with a girl under the age of 16.
He was sentenced to six months confinement, loss of pay, and a bad-conduct discharge. A bad-conduct discharge is one level above a dishonorable discharge, which is a punishment reserved for the most reprehensible conduct.
In 2014, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security began deportation proceedings against Gourzong, claiming that he is removable for having committed the aggravated felony of sexual abuse of a minor — even if he was never criminally convicted of the crime in a civilian court.