Deceived, Deported and Dejected: Supreme Court Will Not Apply Padilla Retroactively for Countless Immigrants
The United States Supreme Court 2010 decision in Padilla v. Kentucky held that the Sixth Amendment of the United States Constitution requires criminal defense attorneys to advise non-citizen clients about the deportation risks of a guilty plea. Under Padilla, the lack of such advisement may render an individual’s guilty plea invalid and therefore potentially allow it to be withdrawn.
However, just this past week, the Supreme Court elaborated on the Padilla ruling by handing down its decision in Chaidez v. United States. In this case, the Supreme Court held that Padilla does not apply retroactively and therefore immigrants convicted of certain crimes before 2010 cannot appeal their cases even if their lawyer did not properly warn them of deportation at the time of their guilty plea.
We all know the police generally must get a warrant before they can search someone’s home and seize property. This means going before a judge and demonstrating “probable cause” that criminal activity is taking place at the location.