tion

High Court to rule whether immigrants must be told they face deportation if they plead guilty

Last update: February 23, 2009 - 10:25 AM


WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court agreed Monday to decide a frequently recurring question involving immigrants: whether they must be told by their lawyers that they face deportation if they plead guilty to serious crimes.

The justices stepped into a case from Kentucky involving a Honduran national who pleaded guilty to trafficking in marijuana after his lawyer assured him he would not face deportation. Jose Padilla is a Vietnam-era veteran who has lived in the United States for decades, although he never became a U.S. citizen.

Padilla's lawyer was mistaken and the federal government began proceedings to deport Padilla because trafficking is regarded as an "aggravated felony," for which deportation is mandatory.

When he realized the consequences of his plea, Padilla sought to withdraw it. A Kentucky appeals court ruled in his favor, but the state Supreme Court said criminal lawyers have no duty to advise their clients about immigration issues.

State and federal courts around the country have come to differing conclusions about immigrants' rights under the Sixth Amendment to effective legal representation. But the issue arises often in U.S. courts, particularly since Congress tightened the rules in the mid-1990s to make deportation automatic for many crimes.

The U.S. high court will hear arguments in the fall.

The case is Padilla v. Kentucky, 08-651.


http://www.startribune.com/nation/40085757.html