Nashville Criminal Defense Lawyer comments about the New Immigration ruling.
David Raybin, notes in this Tennessean article, that the new immigration ruling by the United States Supreme Court is “the immigrant’s Miranda rule.” The Court ruled that changes to immigration law have dramatically raised the stakes of a noncitizen’s criminal conviction. Because the drastic measure of deportation or removal is now virtually inevitable for a vast number of noncitizens convicted of crimes, the importance of accurate legal advice for noncitizens accused of crimes has never been more important. There will, however, undoubtedly be numerous situations in which the deportation consequences of a plea are unclear. In those cases, a criminal defense attorney need do no more than advise a noncitizen client that pending criminal charges may carry adverse immigration consequences. But when the deportation consequence is truly clear the duty to give correct advice is equally clear. Many States -but certainly not all – require judges to provide a general advisement to a defendant before accepting a guilty plea, warning the defendant that if he or she is a noncitizen the conviction may result in adverse immigration consequences. Tennessee does not require this but probably will in time. This does not alter the lawyer’s responsibility to give appropriate advice.
Link to Tennessean article quoting David Raybin on new immigration ruling