Padilla v. Kentucky
Issues
- Is a defense attorney required to research and advise a defendant about the possible immigration consequences that may result from entering a guilty plea?
- If a defense attorney affirmatively misadvises the defendant of the possible immigration consequences of entering a guilty plea, can the defendant later claim he received ineffective assistance of counsel?
In 2002, Jose Padilla (“Padilla”; not the terrorism detainee), a Legal Permanent Resident of the United States, pleaded guilty to a Kentucky drug trafficking offense. Padilla claims he pled guilty in reliance on his defense counsel’s advice that he did not have to worry about deportation as a consequence of his plea. In fact, under federal law, drug trafficking is a deportable offense. Padilla claims that under the Sixth Amendment, he was denied effective assistance of counsel because his defense counsel failed to advise him as to the possible immigration consequences of his plea, and in fact misadvised him. The Commonwealth of Kentucky contends that Padilla was not denied effective assistance of counsel, because the Sixth Amendment does not require that defense counsel advise clients of collateral consequences, and immigration consequences are collateral consequences of guilty pleas. The outcome of this case will affect the duty a defense counsel has to a non-citizen client when advising a client regarding a guilty plea and the rights of a non-citizen to claim ineffective assistance of counsel when not advised or misadvised of immigration consequences.
Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties
- Whether the mandatory deportation consequences that stem from a plea to trafficking in marijuana, an "aggravated felony" under the INA, is a "collateral consequence" of a criminal conviction which relieves counsel from any affirmative duty to investigate and advise; and
- Assuming immigration consequences are "collateral,” whether counsel's gross misadvice as to the collateral consequence of deportation can constitute a ground for setting aside a guilty plea which was induced by that faulty advice.
Petitioner, Jose Padilla (“Padilla”), is a native of Honduras and a Legal Permanent Resident of the United States. See Padilla v.
Written by
Edited by
Additional Resources
· Annotated U.S. Constitution: Sixth Amendment: Right to Counsel
· Wex: Law about Immigration Law
· FindLaw: Deportation