Burbank Post Conviction Relief Lawyer

Burbank Post Conviction Criminal Relief Attorney

A person who has been convicted of a deportable offense or an offense that disqualifies him or her from pursuing naturalization can attack their conviction on legal grounds and if successful the conviction will be vacated and cannot be considered a conviction for immigration purposes. It is important to point out that when conviction is overturned, the prosecuting agency may retry the defendant for the same offense.

Failure to Give Advisals

Several states, including California, require that a defendant be read certain advisals of immigration consequences prior to entry of a guilty or nolo contendere plea. In California, this is covered under PC 1016.15, which requires a plea of guilty, or no contendere to be vacated if the defendant was not given proper advisals concerning immigration consequences of the plea. The guidelines for this penal code were before the California Supreme Court in People v. Superior Court (Zamudio). In that case, the court held that in order for a defendant to prevail in this cause of action, he must show all of the following:

1. The court failed to advise the defendant of one or more of the mandated advisals;
2. The defendant is confronted with “more than a remote possibility of deportation, exclusion, or denial of naturalization” due to the conviction;
3. The defendant was actually prejudiced due to the failure to receive proper advisals.

It is important to note that Federal Courts are not required to give advisals concerning immigration consequences.

Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

Pardon

Coram Nobis