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Padilla should apply to all migrants

Of all the protections guaranteed by the United States Constitution, the right to counsel is arguably the most important.  As the Supreme Court famously declared in Gideon v. Wainright, a criminal defendant simply cannot be “assured a fair trial unless counsel is provided for him.”  Subsequent holdings also established that the right to counsel does not merely afford criminal defendants the euphemistic “warm body with a law degree.”  Instead, the Sixth Amendment guarantees defendants the right to “the effective assistance” of counsel as well—both during trial and in pre-trial plea [...]

Posted by César on October 17, 2017 on 4:00 am 1 Comment
Filed Under: guest blogger, Iowa state court, Padilla v. Kentucky, right to counsel, U.S. Supreme Court

Crimmigration defense counsel

The boundary between criminal law and immigration law has been blurring for decades. The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, for example, formed a core part of the early war on drugs, as its title suggests. It also introduced the aggravated felony into immigration law, altering the lives of hundreds of thousands of migrants in the three decades that followed. Two years later, the Immigration Act of 1990 revamped immigration law. Yet when he signed it, President Bush declared it to be a central component of his administration’s attempt to curtail illicit drug activity. But it wasn’t until 2006 that [...]

Posted by César on July 11, 2017 on 4:00 am Leave a Comment
Filed Under: imprisonment, Iowa state court, Padilla v. Kentucky, right to counsel

California Supreme Court decision opens breathing room for migrants, alters typical political lineup

Last week, the California Supreme Court issued an important decision expanding the ability of migrants given poor advice about the immigration consequences of a conviction to obtain relief. In People v. Patterson, No. S225193, slip op. (Cal. March 27, 2017), the court unanimously held that a migrant isn’t barred from withdrawing a guilty plea that results in mandatory immigration detention and deportability simply because the plea form stated that conviction “may” result in adverse immigration consequences. Pursuant to Cal. Penal Code § 1016.5, all defendants are provided this generic [...]

Posted by César on April 6, 2017 on 4:00 am Leave a Comment
Filed Under: California state court, controlled substance offense, mandatory detention, Padilla v. Kentucky, post-conviction relief, right to counsel, state court

Crimmigration and race conversations

The Crimmigration Law Lecture Series that began last week at the University of Denver took to heart the desire to engage with this emerging area of law in an innovative manner. Bringing together senior scholars, junior scholars, practitioners, and even the petitioner in a landmark Supreme Court case, the lecture series tackled history, politics, and the realities of law enforcement in three well-attended sessions. Given the presidential election cycle that we’re currently in the midst of, the series began by focusing on how race has altered the development of crimmigration law, as well as [...]

Posted by César on March 8, 2016 on 4:00 am Leave a Comment
Filed Under: conference, Padilla v. Kentucky

Justice Scalia’s Crimmigration Legacy

Andrea Sáenz Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s recent passing has spurred a wealth of commentary about his career and legal philosophy, including the recognition that the legendary conservative jurist issued a number of rulings sympathetic to criminal defendants [see here, here, or here]. What have attracted less notice so far are his consistent votes for noncitizens in cases involving the immigration consequences of criminal convictions, or for defendants in cases involving the sentencing consequences of prior convictions. In both types of cases, Scalia was an extremely reliable vote [...]

Posted by César on February 16, 2016 on 4:00 am 4 Comments
Filed Under: § 212(c), ACCA, categorical approach, guest blogger, imprisonment, mandatory detention, Padilla v. Kentucky, right to counsel, U.S. Supreme Court

Mass. Expands “Reasonable Inquiry” for Criminal Defense Counsel

By Thamys Gaertner In October 2015, the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts expanded on the duty of criminal defense attorneys’ to reasonably inquire into clients’ immigration status in cases involving refugees or asylees. Pavel Lavrinenko immigrated to the United States with his family as a refugee in 2000. Commonwealth v. Lavrinenko, 38 N.E.3d 278, 282-83 (Mass. 2015). The family fled Russia to escape religious persecution by the Russian government. Id. On April 10, 2005, Mr. Lavrinenko crashed into a lamp post while driving intoxicated, leading officers to a foot pursuit into a [...]

Posted by César on February 9, 2016 on 4:00 am Leave a Comment
Filed Under: guest blogger, Massachusetts state court, Padilla v. Kentucky, post-conviction relief, right to counsel, state court

Utah Supreme Court: When all else fails, civil procedure can remedy ineffective assistance of counsel

By Sarah Flinn Sergio Meza filed an action under Utah state law for ineffective assistance of counsel after learning of the immigration consequences for his no contest plea to two drug charges pursuant to a plea in abeyance agreement. Meza v. State, 2015 WL 4878268, at *1 (Utah Aug. 14, 2015). Mr. Meza asserted that he had a right to relief under the Post-Conviction Remedies Act of Utah (PCRA) due to the ineffective assistance of counsel, namely, the failure of his attorney to advise him of the immigration consequences of his plea. Id. The Supreme Court of Utah ultimately concluded that Mr. [...]

Posted by César on October 13, 2015 on 4:00 am 1 Comment
Filed Under: conviction, Crimmigration Law book, guest blogger, Padilla v. Kentucky, post-conviction relief, right to counsel, state court, Utah state court

Defining crimmigration law: Part II

Last week I began constructing a working definition of “crimmigration law.” For all its currency in recent years, the reality is that the phrase largely goes undefined—as if we’re supposed to know it when we see it. In the six years that I’ve been writing about crimmigration law, I have been as guilty of doing this as anyone so I’m certainly not pointing fingers. Instead, I’m trying to bring some theoretical coherence to doctrine that evolves rapidly across jurisdictions. As I wrote last week, one major aspect of crimmigration law as I see it is the frequency with which criminal [...]

Posted by César on September 24, 2015 on 4:00 am Leave a Comment
Filed Under: commentaries, Crimmigration Law book, illegal entry, illegal reentry, Padilla v. Kentucky, right to counsel

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César’s talks

January 15: Guest lecturing at the University of Denver in a course about immigration in the 20th century United States (closed)

January 28: Speaking to the Tulane Law School faculty in New Orleans (closed)

February 1: In Los Angeles to participate in Southwestern Law School's "Immigration in the Trump Era" symposium

February 6: At the University of Denver, I'll moderate a noon panel about race scholarship in higher education. Later that day, I'll speak to undergrads enrolled in Professor Lisa Martinez's "Deportation Nation" course (closed).

February 8: In Houston, I'll speak at the South Texas College of Law about ethical issues in representing detained migrants

February 15: At the University of Denver, I'll participate in the inaugural Civil Rights Summit

February 25: I'll be in New York City speaking to the Cardozo Law School faculty

February 28: At California State University, Fullerton, I'll discuss detention and family separation

March 14: I'll deliver the 19th Annual Buck Colbert Franklin Memorial Civil Rights Lecture at the University of Tulsa

All events are open to the public unless marked "closed"

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The information contained on these pages must not be considered legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. This work by www.crImmigration.com is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.