Criminal Defense Attorney Needs to Adivse About Immigration Consequences
Posted By Herman Martinez on Apr 7, 2010 11:40am PDT
Recently, the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion,Padilla v. Kentucky, where it stated that the Sixth Amendment requires defense counsel to provide affirmative, competent advice to a noncitizen defendant regarding the immigration consequences of a guilty plea. Thus, any criminal defense attorney must imform their client of the pitfalls regarding a guilty plea and how it relates to immigration. We always inform any noncitizen of the possibility of deportation and even encourage the client to speak to an immigration attorney before accepting a plea bargain. The Padilla court went further to state that the plea bargain forms that are part of a defendant's court file, reviewed by the client and their attorney, and discussed before taking a plea may not be sufficient. to satisy a lawyer's duty. This decision clearly makes the criminal attorney's need to inform the client about their immigration consequences before taking a plea.