On March 31 2010, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision stating that criminal defense counsel must inform a noncitizen client that a guilty plea carries the risk of deportation.
In its decision in Padilla v. Kentucky, the Court held that an attorney's allegedly incorrect deportation advice amounted to constitutionally deficient representation. When the deportation consequences can be determined from a simple reading of a statute, the Court said, defense counsel must inform the noncitizen client. If deportation consequences are unclear or uncertain, counsel's duty is more limited; the attorney must advise that the charges may carry adverse consequences.
Noting that removal is not technically a criminal sanction, the Court stated that "as a matter of federal law, deportation is an integral part - indeed sometimes the most important part - of the penalty that may be imposed on noncitizen defendants who plead guilty to specified crimes."
