New Resource on Immigration Consequences of a Criminal Conviction

I am excited to announce the release of the 2017 edition of our manual, specific to North Carolina law and practice, on the immigration consequences of a criminal conviction. We hope that this online manual, which can be viewed at no charge, will be a useful resource in understanding this challenging area of law. It is especially important for criminal defense attorneys to understand this field in representing noncitizen clients. For years, national practice standards have recognized criminal defense counsel’s role in advising noncitizen defendants about the immigration consequences of a criminal conviction. Now such advice is constitutionally required by the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (2010). See also State v. Nkiam, ___ N.C. App. ___, 778 S.E.2d 863 (2015) (recognizing requirements of Padilla), which I previously blogged about here. A failure to give competent advice to clients about the immigration consequences of a criminal conviction may constitute ineffective assistance of counsel. Our goal has been to develop a clear, usable resource to assist attorneys in meeting their constitutional obligations. The manual explains, among other things, the different types of immigration status of noncitizens, the criminal grounds for removal (deportation) and other immigration consequences, and potential options for minimizing those consequences. In addition, the manual includes an extensive chart assessing the likelihood of removal based on conviction of commonly-charged North Carolina offenses. There are several ways to find what you need in the manual: Drop down menus. A navigation bar for the immigration manual [...]