When deportation consequences posed by a criminal charge are not clear, do attorneys render ineffective assistance by telling an indigent client their own research shows no certainty of deportation from a plea bargain, but adding they should consult an immigration attorney?

QUESTION PRESENTED Deportation consequences for noncitizens charged with crimes pose hardships as serious as imprisonment that bear on the decision of whether to plead guilty or contest a charge at trial. Immigration consequences are not always obvious to attorneys who do not specialize in such law. This Court held in Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (2010), that if immigration law clearly states that conviction for a specific crime (e.g., drug trafficking) renders a client deportable, the failure to inform a client of such peril constitutes ineffective assistance. If the risk of deportation is not clear, Padilla held that defense counsel need do no more than advise their client that pending criminal charges may carry a risk of adverse immigration consequences. Petitioner sought to withdraw a guilty plea he entered to a lesser charge of blackmail relying on his appointed attorney’s assertion that his own research led him to believe that charge would “not certainly” constitute a crime of moral turpitude rendering him deportable, while at the same time stating he should consult an immigration attorney although counsel knew petitioner lacked the funds to obtain such advice. The Eighth Circuit held that counsel satisfied Padilla by advising his indigent client to seek advice from an expert and dismissed Mr. Khalaf’s claim that counsel’s false assurance that his own research showed deportation would not definitely result established good cause to withdraw his plea of guilty. Mr. Kahalf’s case raises the following issue: 1. When deportation consequences posed by a criminal charge are not clear, do attorneys render ineffective assistance by telling an indigent client their own research shows no certainty of deportation from a plea bargain, but adding they should consult an immigration attorney? 2