Defendant pled guilty to burglary and was sentenced to 3 years probation. At time of plea, Defendant was a citizen of Dominican Republic, and a resident alien of U.S. based on his marriage to a U.S. citizen. During plea hearing, judge advised him that a burglary conviction may have consequences of deportation, exclusion from admission to U.S., or denial of naturalization under laws of U.S. Defendant later filed motion to withdraw his guilty plea, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel and involuntariness. The immigration consequences of conviction were not “succinct, clear, and explicit”, so as to require a warning by counsel that deportation was presumptively mandatory. Thus, counsel was required to give Defendant only a general warning of possibility of immigration consequences. Defendant sufficiently alleged that his counsel’s performance was constitutionally deficient, as counsel gave him no advice about immigration consequences before entering his guilty plea. Court’s admonishments cured any prejudice, and thus court properly denied Defendant’s motion to withdraw guilty plea.(GARMAN, FREEMAN, THOMAS, KILBRIDE, KARMEIER, and THEIS, concurring.)
“Immigration law can be complex, and it is a legal specialty of its own. Some members of the bar who represent clients facing criminal charges, in either state or federal court or both, may not be well versed in it. There will, therefore, undoubtedly be numerous situations in which the deportation consequences of a particular plea are unclear or uncertain. The duty of the private practitioner in such cases is more limited. When the law is not succinct and straightforward ***, a criminal defense attorney need do no more than advise a noncitizen client that pending criminal charges may carry a risk of adverse immigration consequences. But when the deportation consequence is truly clear, as it was in this case, the duty to give correct advice is equally clear.” (Emphasis added.) Id. at 369.
People v. Valdez
Illinois Supreme Court 2016 IL 119860
September 22, 2016
District: 3d Dist
Holding: Appellate court reversed; circuit court affirmed.
