Padilla v. Kentucky
Justices take case on rights of immigrant defendants (Feb. 23, 2009)
The Supreme Court agreed today to decide whether defense lawyers must tell their immigrant clients that they face deportation if they plead guilty to serious crimes.
Jose Padilla, a native of Honduras who lived in the United States for decades and served in the Vietnam War, was indicted by a Hardin County Grand Jury in September 2001 for allegedly trafficking in more than five pounds of marijuana, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and operating a tractor/trailer without a weight and distance tax number. Padilla moved to enter a guilty plea to the three drug-related charges, in exchange for dismissal of the remaining charge, and a total sentence of 10 years on all charges.
The plea agreement provided that Padilla would serve five years of his 10 year sentence and would be sentenced to probation for the remaining five years. Final judgement was entered on Oct. 4, 2002.
On Aug. 18, 2004, Padilla filed a motion for post-conviction relief, alleging that his attorney was ineffective in misadvising him about the potential for deportation as a consequence of his guilty plea. Padilla alleged that his counsel told him that he “did not have to worry about immigration status since he had been in the country for so long.” The Hardin County Circuit court denied the motion on the basis that a guilty plea does not require the defendant be informed of every possible consequence of that plea.
On appeal, the state court of appeals reversed and remanded the case for an evidentiary hearing. In January 2008, the Kentucky Supreme Court overturned the appeals court ruling, holding that criminal lawyers have no duty to advise their clients about immigration issues.
On Feb. 23, the US Supreme Court accepted the case for review. The justices will hear oral arguments in the fall.
Question presented: Does the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of effective assistance of counsel require a criminal defense attorney to advise a non-citizen client that pleading guilty to an aggravated felony will trigger mandatory, automatic deportation, and if that misadvice about deportation induces a guilty plea, can that misadvice amount to ineffective assistance of counsel and warrant setting aside the guilty plea?