Opinion ID: 1324215
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Whether Speyer's misconduct prejudiced Rawshan

Text: Prejudice is found when the performance of counsel was so inadequate that it may have affected the outcome of the proceedings. Ortiz, 179 F.3d at 1153. To determine whether the petitioner was prejudiced, the court must consider the underlying merits of the case to come to a tentative conclusion as to whether [petitioner's] claim, if properly presented, would be viable. Jie Lin, 377 F.3d at 1027. The question before us is not whether Rawshan's claims would prevail, but merely whether they are plausible enough to warrant consideration by the BIA on remand. Mohammed, 400 F.3d at 794. Rawshan argues that Speyer's voluntary-departure recommendation prejudiced him because he had a nontrivial chance of success both in applying for asylum and related relief and in appealing the IJ's determination that he was removable. Rawshan claims persecution on account of his ethnicity (Hazara), political affiliation (anti-Taliban), and religion (Shia Muslim). On all fronts, he claims that he would be persecuted by the Taliban. Because the Taliban is not in power, he would have to show that they are a group that the Afghan government is unwilling or unable to control, Ahmed v. Keisler, 504 F.3d 1183, 1191 (9th Cir.2007), and he would have to show that he has a well-founded fear of persecution at their hands, see 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(42)(A). Establishing a well-founded fear of persecution requires proof that persecution is a `reasonable possibility.' Al-Harbi v. INS, 242 F.3d 882, 888 (9th Cir.2001) (quoting INS v. Cardoza-Fonseca, 480 U.S. 421, 440, 107 S.Ct. 1207, 94 L.Ed.2d 434 (1987)). [E]ven a ten percent chance of persecution may establish a well-founded fear. Id. In support of his claim, Rawshan has submitted (1) his completed asylum application and an affidavit explaining that he fears persecution because of his religion, ethnicity, and father's affiliation with the United States government; (2) various news articles, government reports, and NGO reports documenting the growing power of the Taliban insurgency; (3) news articles and NGO reports documenting the Taliban's persecution of Hazaras, Shias, and political opponents; and (4) an affidavit from his father, Khodarahm, attesting that his father's service as a translator for the United States government at Guantanamo Bay would lead the Taliban to perceive Rawshan as a political opponent, and thus to target him for persecution. Khodarahm's affidavit further claims that the Taliban has killed the family members of some of Khodarahm's fellow translators because of their affiliation with the United States government. These materials are plainly sufficient to show that Rawshan had a plausible chance of proving a well-founded fear of persecution by persons the Afghan government is unwilling or unable to control. Rawshan also claims that he had a colorable appeal from the IJ's tentative order of removal. The IJ's determination that Rawshan was removable was based on Rawshan's conviction for violating a protective order. It is undisputed that this conviction was vacated nunc pro tunc when the trial court, on the parties' joint motion, granted Rawshan leave to withdraw his guilty plea, and the prosecutor dismissed the charge. The government, however, argued that the conviction was still valid for immigration purposes because it was vacated for rehabilitative or immigration-related reasons, not for any substantive or procedural defect in the conviction itself. We have generally followed that line of reasoning, but we have required that the government prove by clear and convincing evidence that the court's only reasons for vacating the conviction were unrelated to any substantive or procedural defect. Nath v. Gonzales, 467 F.3d 1185, 1188-1189 (9th Cir.2006); see also 8 U.S.C. § 1229a(c)(3)(A) (providing that the government must prove by clear and convincing evidence that an alien previously admitted to the United States is removable). Here, it is true that Rawshan's moving papers focused on the immigration consequences of the conviction, but the moving papers also touched on the fact that Rawshan was not informed of the immigration consequences of his plea, and asserted that Rawshan's mental illness caused him to violate the protective order, which could be read to imply an insanity defense to the charge. Without any explanation from the state court (and there is none, as the court order is devoid of any reasoning), it is difficult to know which of the reasons reflected in the parties' submission convinced the court to allow Rawshan to withdraw his plea. Thus, Rawshan presents colorable grounds for appeal. In light of the above analysis, Rawshan has presented evidence that Speyer's misconduct may have affected the outcome of his case; accordingly, we conclude that Rawshan has demonstrated prejudice.