By Joseph T. Burke Issa Kona is a good man who made a mistake that has continued to haunt him for nine years. Issa is 47 years old, immigrated to Cleveland, Ohio from Palestine 12 years ago, has been married for 18 years with four daughters, owns his own house and is a fabricator for a locally owned granite company. In 2006, he paid for a window at a national box store, but walked out with both the window and a $79.93 battery charger. While in the parking lot he allegedly struggled with store security – a key fact in dispute. In Ohio, the elements of robbery, Ohio R.C. 2911.02, are [...]
Regulating Migrants in Franklin County, Ohio–Part 1
Lauren Hines The Secure Communities program permits federally-trained officers to scrutinize individuals booked into non-federal jails for their immigration status. The program uses shared biometric data from all enrolled Secure Communities jurisdictions as well as FBI and other federal databases to alert Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to removable migrants with criminal records. Secure Communities, however, is not the only program used for targeting migrants classified as criminal aliens for removal. Other federal-local memoranda of agreement (MOA) as well as non-federal practices [...]
CO Supreme Ct: Motion to withdraw available for ineffective assistance claim based on deferred judgment
The Colorado Supreme Court held that noncitizens trying to challenge a deferred judgment based on Padilla v. Kentucky, 130 S. Ct. 1473 (2010), may do so under the state’s rule for motion to withdraw pleas but they may not seek review of the judgment and sentence because none exists. Kazadi v. People, No. 11SC264, slip op. (Colo. Dec. 20, 2012) (Hobbs, J., writing for the court; Bender, C.J., dissenting). Deferred judgment, the court explained, essentially holds the criminal proceeding in abeyance. As such, no conviction or sentence is entered. In the court’s words, “a deferred judgment is a [...]
Ohio App Ct: Padilla claim merits hearing
An intermediate appellate court in Ohio concluded that a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel brought pursuant to Padilla v. Kentucky, 130 S. Ct. 1473 (2010), was sufficiently meritorious that an evidentiary hearing was necessary to determine if a motion to withdraw a guilty plea ought to be granted. State v. Yahya, 2011-Ohio-6090 (Ohio Ct. App. 2011) (Dorrian, Klatt, and Connor, JJ.). Judge Dorrian wrote the panel’s opinion. This case involved an LPR who pleaded guilty to theft, Ohio Rev. Code § 2913.02, on May 25, 2010. Yahya, 2011-Ohio-6090 at ¶ 2. Yahya was subsequently detained [...]