The Supreme Court held in Pino v. Landon,[1] that generally a conviction must attain some degree of finality under state or federal court procedure before it can be used as a basis for deportation/removal.  Thus, a conviction on direct appeal will not be considered sufficiently final for purposes of deportation/removal of the noncitizen defendant.  Although some government attorneys have argued that an appealed conviction will support deportation under the new definition, no relevant precedent supports this argument.[2]  In practice, convictions clearly on direct appeal of right still are being held not to constitute a conviction for immigration purposes.   Thus, where appropriate, counsel should file late appeals to criminal convictions.  While pending, the convictions on such appeals cannot serve as a basis for deportation or removal.