Source: https://askalawyer.com/immigration-case-law-the-people-v-the-superior-court-of-san-joaquin-county-zamudio-supreme-court-of-california/
Timestamp: 2019-04-18 15:31:20+00:00

Document:
Jose Francisco ZAMUDIO, Real Party in Interest.
As Modified July 12, 2000.
Victor S. Haltom, under appointment by the Supreme Court, Sacramento, for Real Party in Interest.
Defendant and real party in interest Jose Francisco Zamudio was advised, when pleading no contest in 1992 to the felony of unlawful driving or taking of a vehicle without the owner’s consent (Veh. Code, § 10851), that conviction of that offense might have the consequences of his being deported or barred from naturalizing to United States citizenship, but he was not advised the conviction might also result in his being excluded from admission to this country (Pen.Code, § 1016.5, subd. (a)). Upon defendant’s motion, the trial court permitted him to withdraw his 1992 plea, vacated the judgment of conviction and reset the matter for trial. (Id., subd. (b).) We conclude that the Court of Appeal, which summarily denied the People’s petition for writ relief, thereby contravened the legislative intent underlying section 1016.5. Accordingly, we reverse the decision of the Court of Appeal.
On or about August 5, 1992, defendant was arrested and charged with the felony of unlawfully taking or driving a vehicle (Veh.Code, § 10851) and with receiving stolen property (§ 496). Petitioner filed a complaint in the Municipal Court for the County of San Joaquin, Stockton Judicial District (hereafter the 1992 prosecution).
At defendant’s arraignment the next day, the court advised him and others who were appearing: “If any of you are not United States citizens and you are convicted of a misdemeanor or a felony, it could be used to cause your deportation or to prevent your obtaining United States citizenship.” The court did not advise defendant that, in the event he were deported or left the country, a conviction might have the further consequence of excluding him from readmission to the United States.
Approximately two weeks later, at the time set for the preliminary hearing, defendant, pursuant to a negotiated settlement, entered a plea of no contest to the vehicle-taking charge, whereupon the court dismissed the charge of receiving stolen property. During the plea colloquy, defendant expressly gave up various constitutional rights, including his right to trial by jury. As to immigration consequences, the court advised defendant: “If you’re not a citizen of the United States, a plea of no contest can result in your deportation or in a refusal of naturalization, citizenship or amnesty at a later point in time.” The court again failed to advise defendant that a conviction resulting from his plea might also result in his exclusion from admission to the United States. Defendant was sentenced to serve eight months in county jail and placed on five years’ probation.
Just under five years later, in May 1997, defendant was arrested and charged in the same court with taking a vehicle (Veh. Code, § 10851), driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs (Veh.Code, § 23152), and unlawful possession and transportation or sale of a controlled substance (Health & Saf.Code, §§ 11377, 11379) (hereafter the 1997 prosecution). An order to show cause alleging defendant’s violation of probation also was filed.
A settlement was negotiated encompassing both files, with defendant admitting a probation violation in the 1992 prosecution and pleading no contest to possession of a controlled substance and driving under the influence (with a prior) in the 1997 prosecution. The court gave defendant various advisements, including some relating to immigration. The court sentenced him to two years in state prison on the probation violation, reducing the sentence with various credits to 90 days’ actual time and granting defendant permission to remain in county jail pending his pregnant wife’s giving birth. In consideration of defendant’s pleading no contest to possession and driving under the influence (for which he was sentenced to no additional time and placed on informal probation) the remaining counts were dismissed.
In March 1998, defendant filed a section 1016.5 motion seeking to vacate his plea in the 1992 prosecution, alleging that he had been improperly advised about the possible immigration consequences. In support, defendant submitted his immigration attorney’s sworn declaration (hereafter the Yun Declaration) that defendant’s cumulative criminal convictions, including his convictions under Vehicle Code section 10851, created the possibility he would suffer adverse immigration consequences.
At the hearing on the motion, the trial court denied petitioner’s request to make an offer of proof and for an evidentiary hearing on the questions whether defendant would have pleaded no contest to vehicle taking in 1992 had he been properly advised, and when defendant acquired actual knowledge of the adverse immigration consequences of his plea.
The court also ruled on the validity of a subpoena duces tecum petitioner had served on the public defender for the contents of certain files relating to defendant. Determining that petitioner had a right to receive only that information in the public defender’s files relating to the immigration issues raised by defendant’s section 1016.5 motion, the court conducted an in camera review of the files to determine if they contained any such information. After conducting its review, the court ruled the files contained “absolutely nothing” relating to this case other than a showing that federal authorities had placed an immigration hold on defendant in connection with the 1997 prosecution, a fact with which, apparently, all present (including counsel for petitioner and defendant) were already familiar.
The trial court granted defendant’s section 1016.5 motion, reinstating the original complaint in the 1992 prosecution. Defendant was held to answer, and an information charging him with taking a vehicle and receiving stolen property was filed. Defendant’s pleas of not guilty to both charges were taken and the matter set for trial.
We granted review when the Court of Appeal summarily denied petitioner’s application for writ relief.
“Absent a record that the court provided the advisement required” by section 1016.5, subdivision (a), the defendant is “presumed not to have received” it. (Id., subd. (b).) In this case, however, no presumption is necessary. Defendant and petitioner agree that, both at the arraignment and at the time of plea in the 1992 prosecution, the trial court expressly advised defendant about possible consequences leading to deportation or affecting naturalization to citizenship, but did not advise him about the possible consequence of “exclusion from admission to the United States” (§ 1016.5, subd. (a)), as also required by the statute.
Petitioner first contends the trial court erred in granting defendant relief under section 1016.5 without requiring him to demonstrate he was prejudiced by the incomplete advisement he received at the time of his 1992 plea. Petitioner contends that, in order to prevail on his section 1016.5 motion, defendant must show not only that the trial court failed, at the time of that plea, to advise him as provided by the statute and that there exists, at the time of the motion, more than a remote possibility that his conviction will have one or more of the specified adverse immigration consequences (§ 1016.5, subd. (b)), but also that, properly advised, he would not have pleaded no contest in the first place. For the following reasons, we agree.
Defendant suggests that the Legislature’s use of “shall vacate the judgment” in section 1016.5, subdivision (b) renders the statute a per se rule of reversal, incompatible with a construction that requires defendants to demonstrate prejudice. We disagree. While “the word `shall’ in a statute is ordinarily deemed mandatory, and `may’ permissive” (California Correctional Peace Officers Assn. v. State Personnel Bd. (1995) 10 Cal.4th 1133, 1143, 43 Cal.Rptr.2d 693, 899 P.2d 79), “a court may consider the consequences that would follow from a particular construction and will not readily imply an unreasonable legislative purpose” (id. at p. 1147, 43 Cal. Rptr.2d 693, 899 P.2d 79). We conclude that defendant’s proffered construction does not accord with the legislative purpose underlying section 1016.5.
Defendant correctly observes that section 1016.5, subdivision (b) expressly details only one proof requirement relating to the consequences of a court’s failure to give the advisements required by section 1016.5, subdivision (a), i.e., that the defendant show that conviction of the offense to which he pleaded guilty or nolo contendere actually “may have” one or more of the specified adverse immigration consequences. On the other hand, section 1016.5 contains no express reference to prejudice and thus is silent on the question whether such a requirement may be inferred.
We need not determine whether petitioner’s first express references to article VI, section 13 in fact echo earlier themes. Defendant’s own authority on the “theory of trial” doctrine notes its application is “discretionary with the reviewing court” and, in any event, subject to an exception for appellate reliance on a new theory “where the issue is one of law alone.” (9 Witkin, Cal. Procedure (4th ed. 1997) Appeal, § 406, p. 457; see also id., § 407, p. 459.) The exception applies here, as petitioner’s theory indeed raises a purely legal issue, i.e., whether our construing section 1016.5 not to require a demonstration of prejudice might implicate article VI, section 13.
Substantively, defendant argues article VI, section 13 does not apply to a vacation of judgment under section 1016.5. As defendant points out, we long have recognized that “[t]he amendment by which [former article VI, section 4½ predecessor to article VI, section 13] was added to the constitution was not `designed to repeal or abrogate the guarantees accorded persons accused of crime by other parts of the same constitution, or to overthrow all statutory rales of procedure and evidence in criminal cases.'” (People v. Hall (1926) 199 Cal. 451, 458, 249 P. 859, quoting People v. O’Bryan (1913) 165 Cal. 55, 65, 66, 130 P. 1042 [holding “final test” of “miscarriage of justice” is “the opinion of the appellate court upon the result of the error,” not whether error is constitutional].) From the first, defendant notes, in considering article VI, section 13 (and former art. VI, § 4½) we have recognized “[i]t is an essential part of justice that the question of guilt or innocence shall be determined by an orderly legal procedure, in which the substantial rights belonging to defendants shall be respected.” (People v. O’Bryan, supra, at p. 65, 130 P. 1042.) The court’s error in misadvising him, defendant argues, so compromised his substantial right to make an informed plea that it cannot be considered merely “error as to any matter of procedure” within the meaning of the constitutional provision.
Petitioner concedes that article VI, section 13 does not encompass misadvisement under section 1016.5 as a “misdirection of the jury,” an “improper admission or rejection of evidence” or an “error as to any matter of pleading.” Petitioner insists, however, that article VI, section 13 does encompass a trial court’s failure to deliver full section 1016.5 advisements as an “error as to any matter of procedure” because the law regards as procedural all “`those legal rules which direct the course of proceedings’ ” (People v. Williamson (1933) 134 Cal.App. 775, 781, 26 P.2d 681) without conferring substantive rights.
As noted, People v. Williamson, cited by both parties, calls procedural “`those legal rules which direct the course of proceedings to bring parties into court, and the course of the court after they are brought in.'” (People v. Williamson, supra, 134 Cal.App. at pp. 781-782, 26 P.2d 681, quoting Kring v. Missouri (1882) 107 U.S. 221, 2 S.Ct. 443, 27 L.Ed. 506.) On its face, section 1016.5’s requirement that courts “administer [specified immigration advisements] on the record to the defendant” (§ 1016.5, subd. (a)) before accepting a guilty or nolo contendere plea would seem to be such a rule.
As far as it goes, we do not find the reasoning of Gontiz entirely unpersuasive. But Gontiz did not consider whether section 1016.5 should be construed in order to avoid state constitutional infirmities, and “cases are not authority for propositions not considered.” (People v. Gilbert (1969) 1 Cal.3d 475, 482, fn. 7, 82 Cal.Rptr. 724, 462 P.2d 580.) Obviously, the principle of construction invoked by the Gontiz court— that a criminal statute’s “ambiguity must be resolved in favor of the defendant” (Gontiz, supra, 58 Cal.App.4th at p. 1318, 68 Cal.Rptr.2d 786)—cannot take precedence over paramount constitutional considerations.
Ultimately, we need not decide whether defendant’s state statutory right to receive specified immigration advisements is “constitutionally qualified by the duty of California appellate courts to examine ‘the entire cause’ when any [`error as to any matter of procedure’] is alleged and to affirm the judgment absent a `miscarriage of justice'” (People v. Wims (1995) 10 Cal.4th 293, 310, 41 Cal.Rptr.2d 241, 895 P.2d 77 [bracketed text quoting art. VI, § 13 added]), as defendant fails to adduce any authority suggesting the Legislature, when enacting section 1016.5, intended to depart from the normal rules, consonant with that constitutional provision, governing withdrawal of a plea for misadvisement regarding collateral consequences. Defendant does not dispute that immigration consequences, generally, are considered “collateral” consequences of a criminal conviction. (Gontiz, supra, 58 Cal.App.4th at p. 1311, 68 Cal.Rptr.2d 786; see also People v. Limones (1991) 233 Cal. App.3d 338, 344, 284 Cal.Rptr. 418.) As defendant’s own authority acknowledges, “[n]ormally a motion to vacate a plea based on misadvisement or omission of a collateral consequence requires the defendant to demonstrate that he would not have entered into the plea had he known of the consequence.” (Gontiz, supra, at p. 1311, 68 Cal.Rptr.2d 786, citing People v. Walker, supra, 54 Cal.3d at pp. 1022-1023, 1 Cal.Rptr.2d 902, 819 P.2d 861.) We see no indication that the Legislature intended section 1016.5 to operate as an exception.
For the foregoing reasons, and in order to avoid whatever constitutional infirmity a contrary construction might engender, we have no difficulty construing section 1016.5 to require that defendants, in order to obtain relief under subdivision (b) of the statute, demonstrate they were prejudiced by any failure of the court to provide complete advisements under subdivision (a). Accordingly, when ruling on defendant’s section 1016.5 motion, the trial court in this case erred in failing to consider, not only whether it formerly had failed to advise defendant as section 1016.5 requires and whether, as a consequence of his conviction on the offense to which he pleaded nolo contendere, defendant actually faces one or more of the statutorily specified immigration consequences, but also whether defendant was prejudiced by the court’s having provided incomplete advisements.
Although the order of the trial court must therefore be reversed, for the guidance of the trial court on remand we turn now to discussion of petitioner’s other claims of error.
In granting defendant’s motion, the trial court impliedly found that defendant had shown that conviction of the offense to which he pleaded nolo contendere “may have the consequences for [him] of deportation, exclusion from admission to the United States, or denial of naturalization pursuant to the laws of the United States” (§ 1016.5, subd. (b)). (Watts v. Crawford (1995) 10 Cal.4th 743, 762, fn. 15, 42 Cal. Rptr.2d 81, 896 P.2d 807.) Petitioner contends that, at the hearing on the motion, the court improperly denied its request for a further evidentiary hearing on whether defendant faces such consequences and, if so, when defendant acquired knowledge that he faces them.
Neither in its written opposition nor at the hearing on the motion did petitioner dispute that defendant, in fact, faces potential adverse immigration consequences. Moreover, it was petitioner who drew the court’s attention to the fact the 1997 probation report on this case stated defendant “would be deported.” Nevertheless, petitioner now contends the court should have permitted live testimony and cross-examination on whether and when defendant faced, and knew he faced, immigration risks.
Petitioner next contends that, to the extent it is based on the Yun Declaration, the trial court’s implied factual finding that defendant actually faces adverse immigration consequences from his 1992 plea is insufficiently supported. Petitioner asserts the Yun Declaration is “nearly entirely conclusory and devoid of facts.” Citing People v. Williams (1973) 30 Cal. App.3d 502, 510, 106 Cal.Rptr. 324, petitioner argues the Yun Declaration is not competent evidence because it is inadmissible hearsay.
Section 1016.5, itself, is silent about what constitutes a sufficient showing under its subdivision (b). The only decisions directly to address the question simply recognize that, while section 1016.5, subdivision (b) “implies the need to show more than just a remote possibility of deportation, exclusion, or denial of naturalization” (People v. Shaw, supra, 64 Cal.App.4th at p. 499, 74 Cal.Rptr.2d 915), “`where there is a sufficient showing on the record from the words of the court itself” (ibid.,9 quoting People v. Guzman, supra, 116 Cal. App.3d at p. 192, 172 Cal.Rptr. 34), the defendant must be given an opportunity to withdraw his plea.
Ultimately, we need not pass on the admissibility of the Yun Declaration because the record before the trial court contained more than sufficient support, apart from that declaration, for the court’s implied finding that defendant’s conviction based on his 1992 plea might, as of the time the court was considering defendant’s motion, actually have the consequences for him of deportation, exclusion from admission to the United States, or denial of naturalization (§ 1016.5, subd. (b)).
As discussed, both in its written opposition to defendant’s motion and at the hearing, petitioner impliedly conceded defendant faced “immigration problems.” The trial court, moreover, possessed the record of defendant’s criminal history, including his 1997 conviction, which, as a matter of law, in combination with his earlier convictions, put defendant at risk of adverse immigration consequences, including exclusion from admission to the United States for having committed crimes of moral turpitude. (8 U.S.C. § 1182(a)(2)(B); id, § 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(I); see Matter of Serna (B.I.A.1992) 20 I. & N. Dec. 579 [1992 WL 301779]; Matter of M. (B.I.A.1948) 3 I. & N. Dec. 272 [194B WL 6270].) The record also reveals that the trial court possessed documentary evidence that a border patrol hold had been placed on defendant by federal immigration authorities.
We conclude that defendant, in moving to vacate his 1992 conviction under section 1016.5, showed that, at the time of the motion, he faced “more than just a remote possibility of deportation, exclusion, or denial of naturalization” (People v. Shaw, supra, 64 Cal.App.4th at p. 499, 74 Cal. Rptr.2d 915). Therefore, the trial court’s implied finding that “conviction of the offense to which defendant pleaded … nolo contendere may have the consequences for the defendant” specified in the statute (§ 1016.5, subd. (b)) was adequately supported.
Petitioner next contends the trial court should have denied defendant’s section 1016.5 motion on the ground he delayed, without excuse, in bringing it. As petitioner has emphasized, however, no record evidence pinpoints when defendant first knew that he risked actual “exclusion from admission to the United States” (§ 1016.5, subd. (b)). Defendant takes the position that precisely when he acquired such knowledge is irrelevant under the statute.
The authority petitioner cites, People v. Castaneda, supra, 37 Cal.App.4th 1612, 44 Cal.Rptr.2d 666, stands at most for the proposition that a postjudgment motion to change a plea must be made with “reasonable diligence” (id. at p. 1619, 44 Cal. Rptr.2d 666). Absent evidence defendant long ago had cause to question the accuracy of the trial court’s 1992 immigration advisements, to hold he should have objected to them earlier would be unfair. This conclusion accords with the plain language of section 1016.5, which contains no time bar.
To the extent petitioner relies on the affirmative defense of laches or its equivalent, the burden is petitioner’s to prove the facts comprising that defense. (Evid.Code, § 500; see also Miller v. Eisenhower Medical Center (1980) 27 Cal.3d 614, 624, 166 Cal.Rptr. 826, 614 P.2d 258.) Petitioner states there is “no indication as to when defendant became aware of possible immigration problems,” suggesting only that “presumably he knew in 1990” because he received some immigration advisements that year, in another case. We see no significance for present purposes in defendant’s having received some immigration advisements in 1990. The mandated advisement refers to “the offense for which you have been charged” (§ 1016.5, subd. (a)) and no other. Defendant cannot in 1990 have been advised—adequately or otherwise—about the possible consequences of a no contest plea he would enter in 1992 to criminal charges brought against him that same year.
Petitioner notes also that defendant, when pleading in 1992, was advised about some of the adverse immigration consequences his plea might have, specifically, that his conviction “could be used” to cause his deportation or prevent his obtaining United States citizenship. But advising a defendant that a no contest plea may in the abstract have immigration consequences, cannot be taken as placing him on notice that, owing to his particular circumstances, he faces an actual risk of suffering such. Were it so, the second of section 1016.5, subdivision (b)’s express required showings, i.e., that the conviction “may have the consequences” specified, would be superfluous. Put another way, that relief under section 1016.5 is predicated upon a defendant’s demonstrating his conviction “may have” one or more of the specified consequences implies that such a motion is timely if brought within a reasonable time after the conviction actually “may have” such consequences.
A similar level of concern on defendant’s part in the period following the 1992 prosecution would not have been as well founded. Deportation can be instituted only “upon the order of the Attorney General” (8 U.S.C. § 1227(a)) of the United States, who retains discretion not to institute such proceedings. (See United States v. Santelises (2d Cir.1973) 476 F.2d 787, 790, citing prior statute.) The trial court’s examination of the public defender’s files in the 1992 case revealed no immigration hold or other relevant federal activity such as was found in the 1997 files.
Moreover, the record reveals that in 1992 defendant stood convicted, cumulatively, of at most one misdemeanor violation of Vehicle Code section 10851 (in 1990) and one felony violation of the same statute (in 1992), receiving for the latter a sentence of five years’ probation and eight months in jail. While it is possible defendant was at that point technically subject to deportation or exclusion for being “convicted of two or more crimes involving moral turpitude” (former 8 U.S.C.A. § 1251(a)(2)(A)(ii) (Westlaw Historical U.S.C.A.1992) [deportation]; see also 8 U.S.C.A. § 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(I) [inadmissibility or exclusion]), that in 1992 defendant faced more than a remote possibility of adverse immigration consequences seems unlikely.
In view of his family’s presence here (and the United States citizenship status of any of his children born in this country), defendant understandably may have viewed exclusion, about which he was not advised, rather than deportation or denial of naturalization, as the most serious for him among section 1016.5’s specified immigration consequences; indeed, perhaps as the only one that could affect his calculations regarding the advisability of pleading no contest to the 1992 vehicle-taking charges. Defendant was warned about deportation, but, as noted, deportation does not necessarily preclude legal reentry. And, partly because he was not accurately advised in 1992, defendant reasonably may not have been aware, until the immigration hold revealed in the 1997 case file, that one consequence of the 1992 conviction could be to place him at risk, especially if other convictions followed, of being excluded from readmission.
Petitioner contends that the trial court erred in failing to deny defendant’s section 1016.5 motion on the ground the immigration advisements defendant received in the 1992 prosecution were in substantial compliance with the statute.
Notwithstanding that section 1016.5 expressly provides that, under specified circumstances, “the court shall administer the following advisement” (§ 1016.5, subd. (a)) and then details a specific, tripartite, form of advisement (ibid.), some Courts of Appeal have held that “[t]he exact language of the advisement is not crucial” (People v. Limones, supra, 233 Cal.App.3d at p. 345, 284 Cal.Rptr. 418 [dictum]; People v. Soriano (1987) 194 Cal.App.3d 1470, 1475, 240 Cal.Rptr. 328 [dictum]; People v. Barocio (1989) 216 Cal.App.3d 99, 105, 264 Cal. Rptr. 573 [without analysis, citing People v. Soriano, supra]). The issue here, however, is not whether the advisements defendant received were sufficiently exact. Rather, defendant complains because, at the critical juncture, the mandated advisement respecting possible “exclusion from admission to the United States” (§ 1016.5, subd. (a)) was entirely omitted.
Nevertheless, if defendant’s circumstances at the time of his 1992 plea did not, in fact, allow for the possibility of his subsequent exclusion from the United States in the event he were deported, the advisements he received concerning deportation and naturalization would have been in substantial compliance with the requirements of section 1016.5, in that they would have informed defendant of the only consequences pertinent to his situation. Because the record does not disclose whether defendant would have been eligible for readmission, we are unable to conclude that the trial court erred in failing to deny defendant’s motion on grounds of substantial compliance.
Finally, petitioner argues that any harm caused by the trial court’s 1992 misadvisements was corrected when defendant, in the course of the 1997 prosecution, signed an accurate plea and waiver form stating he had violated his 1992 probation. Without authority, petitioner asserts that the 1997 form “corrects, nunc pro tunc,” any error in the original advisements.
Petitioner’s retroactive correction theory cannot be reconciled with section 1016.5 itself. It was the intent of the Legislature in enacting section 1016.5 to promote fairness to criminally accused noncitizens “by requiring in such cases that acceptance of a guilty plea or plea of nolo contendere be preceded by an appropriate warning of the special consequences for such a defendant which may result from the plea.” (§ 1016.5, subd. (d), italics added.) This purpose logically cannot be served and, in fact, would be thwarted, by a rule permitting after-the-fact warnings. Such a rule also would undermine the Legislature’s expressed intention “that the court in such cases shall grant the defendant a reasonable amount of time to negotiate with the prosecuting agency in the event the defendant or the defendant’s counsel was unaware of the possibility of deportation, exclusion from admission to the United States, or denial of naturalization as a result of conviction.” (Ibid.) Obviously, advisements at the time of a subsequent probation violation would not afford a defendant an opportunity to negotiate the terms of his original conviction.
Most fundamentally, as discussed, our Legislature expressly sought to address in section 1016.5 the problem of a defendant entering a plea of guilty or nolo contendere without knowing about its potential adverse immigration consequences. (§ 1016.5, subd. (d).) The evil targeted, thus, is not simply a defendant’s lack of knowledge, but his or her lack of knowledge at a specified critical juncture. Such an evil cannot be corrected by provision of the required information after the critical juncture has passed. (Cf. In re Martinez (1959) 52 Cal.2d 808, 814, 345 P.2d 449 [advisement of right to counsel meant to ensure defendant is aware “at the time he pleads guilty”].) To conclude otherwise would undermine any prophylactic effect the statute might have.
Hence, the trial court did not err in rejecting petitioner’s theory of subsequent correction of the partial advisements.
Since we have concluded that the trial court erred in failing to require that defendant demonstrate prejudice in connection with his section 1016.5 motion (see ante, 96 Cal.Rptr.2d at pp. 469-475, 999 P.2d at pp. 691-697), we must address defendant’s contention that we should affirm the decision of the Court of Appeal because the record before us demonstrates he was, indeed, prejudiced by the trial court’s failure to deliver complete section 1016.5 advisements. Defendant asserts he would not in 1992 have pleaded no contest to vehicle theft had the court fully advised him of the plea’s potential immigration consequences, including the possibility of his being excluded from admission to the United States. As defendant points out, a deported alien who cannot return “loses his job, his friends, his home, and maybe even his children, who must choose between their [parent] and their native country” (Galvan v. Press (1954) 347 U.S. 522, 533, 74 S.Ct. 737, 98 L.Ed. 911 (dis. opn. of Black, J.)).
Petitioner maintains the record does not demonstrate defendant was prejudiced, because defendant may have had actual knowledge of the relevant immigration consequences when, in 1992, he entered the plea at issue. To that extent, petitioner argues, defendant cannot now claim he would have impleaded differently if he had been advised differently. As previously discussed, the trial court, in ruling on defendant’s 1016.5 motion, did not consider evidence relating to the state of defendant’s knowledge at the time he entered his plea. Petitioner asserts there was a “very strong prosecution case” on the vehicle-taking and receiving stolen property charges and notes defendant received a sentence of probation and eight months in jail. According to petitioner, on such facts it “seems virtually assured” that defendant would have pleaded no contest even if he had been properly advised.
We reverse the decision of the Court of Appeal denying the petition for a writ of mandate/prohibition and remand the cause with directions to that court to conduct further proceedings in accordance with this opinion.
GEORGE, C.J., BAXTER, J., CHIN, J., and BROWN, J., concur.
Dissenting Opinion by MOSK, J.
Unlike the majority, I do not find any requirement in the Penal Code that a noncitizen convicted criminal seeking to vacate the judgment under Penal Code section 1016.5 (section 1016.5) must show that he or she would have proceeded to trial he or she had known about the possible immigration and nationality consequences of pleading guilty or no contest. Therefore, I respectfully dissent.
It is also important to understand that a proper advisement must refer to all three immigration and nationality consequences. With regard to immigration consequences, exclusion and deportation are different consequences of a criminal conviction. “The differences between proceedings of exclusion and those of deportation are significant.” (Maldonado-Sandoval v. INS (9th Cir.1975) 518 F.2d 278, 280 (per curiam ).) The rights accorded to the alien in each are quite different. (Leng May Ma v. Barber (1958) 357 U.S. 185, 187, 78 S.Ct. 1072, 2 L.Ed.2d 1246.) It is beyond the scope of this discussion to outline the differences—they are many, subtle, and complicated—but for an overview, one need only compare 8 United States Code section 1182(a)(2), with idem., section 1227(a)(2). The only point to be made here is that the Legislature was wise to require separate warnings about exclusion and deportation. Section 1016.5’s requirements are well grounded in title 8 of the United States Code, and the courts should adhere carefully to the Legislature’s requirement that a defendant be aware of each possible adverse consequence to a noncitizen following entry of a guilty plea.
 Undesignated section references are to the Penal Code.
 The record below, consistent with “the intent of the Legislature that at the time of the plea no defendant shall be required to disclose his or her legal status to the court” (§ 1016.5, subd. (d)), does not reveal defendant’s precise immigration status. As will appear, however, the record reveals that defendant, on whom federal authorities have placed an immigration hold, is not a citizen of the United States.
 The trial court denied defendant’s motion to vacate his pleas in the 1997 prosecution, and neither party sought review of that denial. Thus, the adequacy of the advisements delivered in the 1997 prosecution is not before us.
 In addition to the 1992 felony conviction, in 1990 defendant suffered a misdemeanor conviction for violation of Vehicle Code section 10851.
 Almost a year after we granted review, defendant filed a “Motion to Dismiss,” suggesting that, as petitioner could have appealed the trial court’s order vacating the judgment of conviction, writ review is not available. Even were defendant technically correct that petitioner may be denied writ relief on appealability grounds, he would have articulated at best an argument supporting the result he actually obtained in the Court of Appeal, not an argument suggesting we improvidently granted review of that decision. We granted review because it appeared “necessary to secure uniformity of decision or the settlement of important questions of law” (Cal. Rules of Court, rule 29(a)), and nothing in defendant’s dismissal motion undermines that determination. Accordingly, defendant’s motion to dismiss is denied.
 To the extent People v. Gontiz, supra, 58 Cal.App.4th 1309, 68 Cal.Rptr.2d 786, People v. Guzman (1981) 116 Cal.App.3d 186, 172 Cal.Rptr. 34, and People v. Borja (1981) 125 Cal.App.3d 758, 178 Cal.Rptr. 287 are inconsistent with this conclusion, they are disapproved.
 Petitioner asserted the Yun Declaration was vague and conclusory, but not by way of disputing Attorney Yun’s conclusion that defendant faces potential adverse immigration consequences. Petitioner argued, rather, that defendant was dilatory in filing his motion.
 The record contains a “Guilty Plea Waiver Form (Misdemeanor)” signed by defendant, recording his no contest plea in April 1990 to a misdemeanor charge of violating Vehicle Code section 10851. The waiver form includes a paragraph, initialed by defendant which states that the resulting conviction “could result in deportation or exclusion from admission to this country or denial of naturalization or amnesty.” The adequacy of these advisements was not challenged below and is not before us. Defendant’s 1990 conviction is relevant, however, insofar as the immigration risks defendant actually faced at any given time depended on his cumulative criminal record at that time.
 The majority also discuss, in what I perceive to be a dictum, article VI, section 13 of the California Constitution. Contrary to anything that may be said or implied in parts of that discussion, I believe that the constitutional provision bars only a reviewing court from reversing a judgment when there has been no prejudicial error. (Mitchell v. Gonzales (1991) 54 Cal.3d 1041, 1054, 1 Cal.Rptr.2d 913, 819 P.2d 872; People v. Watson (1956) 46 Cal.2d 818, 834-836, 299 P.2d 243; Herbert v. Lankershim (1937) 9 Cal.2d 409, 476-477, 71 P.2d 220; Copley v. Putter (1949) 93 Cal.App.2d 453, 456, 207 P.2d 876.) “[T]he final test is the `opinion’ of the reviewing court.” (People v. Watson, supra, 46 Cal.2d 818, 835, 299 P.2d 243.) I have found no authority for the suggestion that the constitutional provision prevents the Legislature from imposing a particular remedy for a particular trial court error.
Moreover, even if article VI, section 13, did apply to legislated remedies, I am not persuaded that the error is procedural in nature and hence covered by the provision.

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