Jose Guzman Gonzalez v. Jefferson Sessions III

WYNN, Circuit Judge:

Petitioner Jose Guzman Gonzalez entered the United States illegally in the early 2000s. Several years later, Guzman pleaded guilty in North Carolina state court to misdemeanor possession of a small amount of marijuana. The state court withheld adjudication of guilt, instead entering a verdict of prayer for judgment continued and assessing Guzman $100 in court costs.

The question presented for our review is purely legal: does the imposition of $100 in court costs, assessed attendant to a prayer for judgment continued under North Carolina law, qualify as a "conviction" within…