Source: https://www.tdcaa.com/journal/padilla-changes-everything/
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 20:09:49+00:00

Document:
When the pendulum swung back again after the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Chaidez v. United States, which held that the Padilla decision did not apply retroactively,3 these writs again faded from the consciousness of most prosecutors. However, these writs are still relevant not only in that their existence requires diligence in future plea bargain proceedings, but also in defending against writs brought under pre-Padilla law. This article is designed to trace the evolution of the jurisprudence regarding immigration advice attendant to criminal plea bargains, to examine how prosecutors can protect their current cases from Padilla claims in the future, and to advise on how they can deal with claims of ineffective assistance relating to immigration which are based on pre-Padilla rules.
While the Chaidez and Guerrero holdings have cut down on many of the pre-Padilla writs, innovative defense counsel are still filing such writs based on pre-Padilla precedent. Writs are also being filed based on post-Padilla ineffective assistance. As a result, prosecutors must keep in mind how to avoid claims of ineffective assistance going forward in light of Padilla, how they can combat post-Padilla ineffective assistance claims, and how they can combat ineffective assistance claims based on pre-Padilla precedent.
At their core, Padilla claims are ineffective assistance of counsel claims. Therefore, to some degree the prosecutor will be limited in what he can do to protect his cases from these claims because he cannot take over the role of the defense lawyer (on whom the defense of these claims lies). However, the prosecutor can take some concrete steps to both assist the defense lawyer in avoiding these issues and in protecting the record in a future appeal or writ proceeding.
First, the prosecutor should simply ask defense counsel if the defendant is a citizen. This should raise the issue to the defense lawyer, who should then be aware enough to ask his client. Prosecutors should ask this question in every case, not merely those where a defendant does not speak English or shows some other outward signs of being a non-citizen.
The prosecutor should also make certain to take detailed notes in his file about any conversations with defense counsel about the defendant’s immigration status. This step can be simply accomplished in most cases with a short conversation prior to the entry of the defendant’s plea. The prosecutor should also make an effort to have every plea colloquy recorded, or at least every plea colloquy where immigration is known to be an issue. The prosecutor can then have the defendant state his immigration status on the record, make clear what steps have been taken to establish the immigration consequences of the plea, and ensure that the defendant understands these consequences and is entering a knowing and voluntary plea. It may even be worth reconsidering your county’s plea paperwork to add a section dealing with the defendant’s immigration status in more detail.
In dealing with writs of habeas corpus regarding pleas that were entered after Padilla, the writ prosecutor will need to contact the applicant’s trial counsel to inquire about his recollection regarding conversations he had with the applicant’s immigration status. Oftentimes, the prosecutor will find that the trial counsel’s recollection is nonexistent, as is his file. This is where the prosecutor’s notes and a recorded plea colloquy come in handy. Again, pre-trial services paperwork, such as a request for court-appointed counsel can also be helpful in the scenario where the original trial counsel’s memory and file are not.
Being that pre-Padilla writs will necessarily involve cases where pleas were entered prior to March 31, 2010, the writ prosecutor will likely find little help in the memories of defense lawyers and a great many missing or destroyed defense counsel files. Nonetheless, a conversation with the writ applicant’s trial counsel is the necessary starting point. For those prosecutors who are lucky, defense counsel will recall going into painstaking detail with the writ applicant all of the potential immigration consequences of the applicant’s plea and will have made all of those consequences known on the record. For the vast majority of writ prosecutors, trial counsel will be of little help. In the event you find yourself an unlucky writ prosecutor without helpful trial counsel and without a recorded plea proceeding, there are still potential resources available.
In this respect, even an unlucky writ prosecutor can usually expect some help from trial counsel. Even trial counsel who has no recollection of the plea and no file will usually testify that he would never have misadvised a criminal defense client about the immigration consequences of a plea. Prior to Padilla, most trial counsel had a habit of refusing to give any advice on immigration precisely because Texas courts had decreed that immigration was a collateral consequence. Usually, criminal counsel will testify that they gave no advice regarding immigration prior to Padilla, and because pre-Padilla claimants must prove affirmative misadvice, this is enough to successfully defend against the writ.
Again, pre-trial services paperwork, including requests for court-appointed counsel, can be helpful if your county’s paperwork asks for a declaration of citizenship. Internal paperwork from the county jail can also be helpful if it has any items that call for a declaration of citizenship. The jail should also keep a record of when non-citizen inmates request to speak with their consulates. Prosecutors may also want to speak with the magistrate who handles arraignments to find out if he has any records regarding whether the writ applicant made it known that he was not a citizen or requested any advice about his immigration status at that time.
Also keep in mind that prosecutors’ files (at least in larger offices) may change hands several times. Seek out colleagues who handled a writ applicant’s file and pick their brains for any recollection of conversations they had with trial counsel regarding the applicant’s immigration status. If your office has a designated person who handles pre-trial diversion, make sure to speak with that person. Generally, pre-trial diversion requests made by non-citizens rely on the hardship the defendant’s family would be put through if he were to be deported as a result of his criminal case as the primary reason why pre-trial diversion should be granted.
While the world of writs of habeas corpus based on ineffective assistance of counsel flowing from immigration consequences continues to evolve, there are concrete steps prosecutors can and should take to protect their future pleas and defend their final convictions. I hope that this article proves helpful to prosecutors facing these writs. Please feel free to contact me at [email protected] if I can be of any assistance.
1 Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (2010).
3 Chaidez v. United States, 133 S.Ct. 1103, 1133 (2013).
4 Padilla, 559 U.S. at 369.
7 Holding that it was “unlikely that our decision today will have a significant effect on those convictions already obtained as a result of plea bargains.” Id. at 372.
8 See, e.g., Ex Parte Tanklevskaya, 361 S.W.3d 86, 95 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2011 (pet. granted, judgm’t vacated by Ex Parte Tanklevskaya, 393 S.W.3d 787 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013)); Ex Parte Sudhakar, No. 14-11-00701-CR, 2012 WL 6061859 at *3 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] Dec. 6, 2012 (pet. granted, judgm’t vacated by Ex Parte Sudhakar, No. PD-0220-13, 2013 WL 1682780 (Tex. Crim. App. Apr. 17, 2013)) (not designated for publication).
9 Padilla, 559 U.S. at 371.
10 Chaidez, 133 S.Ct. at 1133.
11 Ex Parte De Los Reyes, 392 S.W.3d 675, 679 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013).
12 State v. Guerrero, 400 S.W.3d 576, 588 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013).
15 See, e.g., Ex Parte Lopez, No. 04-11-00817-CR, 2012 WL 1431379 at *4 (Tex. App.—San Antonio Apr. 25, 2012, no pet.) (not designated for publication).
16 For example, while aggravated felonies are deportable offenses, the definition of the term “aggravated felony” is long, complex, and often not directly applicable to Texas statutes. See 8 U.S.C. §1101(a)(43); see also 8 U.S.C. §1227(a)(2)(A)(iii) mandating deportation for aliens convicted of aggravated felonies but not defining the term “aggravated felony.” In particular, determining whether an offense under Texas law is deportable because it qualifies as an aggravated felony by way of being a “crime of violence” can be especially complicated. See 18 U.S.C. §16 (defining “crime of violence”).
17 Padilla, 559 U.S. at 374.
18 See, e.g., Ex Parte Fassi, 388 S.W.3d 881, 890 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2012, no pet.); Ex Parte Moreno, 382 S.W.3d 523, 530 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2012, pet. ref’d).
19 Padilla, 559 U.S. at 372.
20 See, e.g., Ex Parte Tavakkoli, No. 09-13-00082-CR, 2013 WL 5428138 (Tex. App.—Beaumont Sept. 25, 2013, pet. ref’d (not designated for publication).
21 Ex Parte Luna, 401 S.W.3d 329, 334 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2013, no pet.); Candelas v. State, No. 01-13-00007-CR, 2013 WL 3354694 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] July 2, 2013, no pet.); see State v. Jimenez, 987 S.W.2d 886, 888-89 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999).
22 Rosa v. State, No. 05-04-00558-CR, 2005 WL 2038175 at *3 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2005, pet. ref’d) (not designated for publication); see also Ex Parte Saldana, No. 03-09-00403-CR, 2010 WL 2789032 (Tex. App.—Austin, July 16, 2010, no pet.) (not designated for publication).
23 Ex Parte Perez, 398 S.W.3d 206, 215 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013) (holding that the State may now raise the equitable doctrine of laches with regard to the facts of the underlying case and not solely with regard to the State’s ability to adequately participate in the writ proceedings).

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