Supreme Court: Overturns Gulty Plea for Failing to Warn of Deportation Consequences
The Supreme Court took a big step forward today and ruled that defense counsel must advise clients of adverse immigration consequences to their guilty pleas. The case is Padilla v. Kentucky, the opinion is here. Even Roberts and Alito concurred (Scalia and Thomas dissented.) The holding:
The lawyer for an alien charged with crime has a constitutional obligation to tell the client that a guilty plea carries a risk that he will be deported. The Court, however, does not decide whether the individual in this specific case has been prejudiced by the lawyer’s failure to give that advice.
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