Post-Conviction Relief For Non-Citizens
Conviction vacated, deportation avoided
Our client was facing deportation based on a case where he received a continuance without a finding (“CWOF”), which meant that his case would be dismissed after a period of probation. He completed probation and thought he was all set. Nearly 15 years later he found out that for non-citizens a CWOF is still considered a conviction, and was placed in deportation proceedings. We vacated his CWOF and he is no longer deportable.
Conviction vacated, client granted citizenship
Our client was unable to travel outside the country or become a citizen and risked deportation due to a 30-year-old case that wasn’t even considered a conviction under Massachusetts law. We filed a motion and our client was allowed to withdraw his plea. The case was dismissed by agreement, and about a year later we got an email from this client giving us the good news that he had become a U.S. citizen.
Conviction vacated, imminent deportation avoided
More than 25 years ago our client was convicted of several offenses that caused him to be ordered deported back to a country where he and his family had suffered unimaginable horrors. For many years deportation orders to this country were not being carried out and he went on to have a family and career, and hoped this was all behind him. When his country started accepting deportees again he was taken from his family one day without warning and put in immigration detention, where he faced imminent deportation with no opportunity to go back to immigration court. We filed a lengthy motion supported by hundreds of pages of exhibits explaining why the conviction should be vacated. The judge agreed, and our client is back home with his family.
Conviction vacated, deportation avoided, client granted citizenship
A superior court judge allowed our client to vacate his plea because he did not understand at the time that the “good deal” he was getting wasn’t so good after all since it would result in his deportation from the place he has lived since he was a child. Our client got ordered deported on the basis of this conviction many years ago, but until recently his country was not issuing travel documents for its citizens so he had been able to remain here. This recently changed and he was at risk of being deported within the next year. By winning his case he was able to get his case thrown out of immigration court and he was able to apply for citizenship.
Conviction vacated
After an evidentiary hearing where we called two witnesses to testify, a judge vacated our client’s conviction for a drug offense and he is now eligible for discretionary relief in immigration court.
Successful appeal of denial of motion to withdraw plea
After a judge denied our motion to withdraw our client’s plea, we filed an appeal and argued to three justices in the Appeals Court that the judge made an error by refusing to give us a hearing. The case was remanded for an evidentiary hearing where two witnesses testified. Our motion was allowed and our client was entitled to have a new trial. He was found not guilty and is no longer at risk of deportation.
Conviction vacated, client granted citizenship
When our client admitted to sufficient facts to drug distribution charges he never thought the case would have immigration consequences for him since it was ultimately dismissed. His attorney didn’t explain to him that his admission would be considered a conviction for immigration purposes. 15 years later he applied for naturalization. When he was denied based on this conviction, he was terrified to learn that he could also be deported. After an evidentiary hearing, the district court allowed our motion and vacated our client’s conviction so he is not only safe from deportation, but was able to finally become a U.S. citizen.
Conviction vacated
Even though he only received probation at the time, our client got deported based on a single offense he committed when he was 19 years old. We presented substantial evidence that our client’s plea should be vacated. The superior court judge agreed and allowed our motion after hearing testimony and arguments. Our client is working with an immigration attorney to return to the United States to be reunited with his family.
Conviction vacated
When our client was 18-years-old he pleaded guilty to a very minor drug possession offense that he had no idea would have serious immigration consequences later on and make him ineligible for discretionary relief in immigration court, despite the fact that he’s lived here legally for 25 years. A judge allowed our client to withdraw his guilty plea and he is now eligible to apply for cancellation of removal in immigration court, which could prevent his deportation.
Motion to revise or revoke sentence
The way our client’s sentence in his criminal case was structured, he was left without the possibility of being able to apply for any form of discretionary relief in immigration court when he was placed in deportation proceedings. We filed a motion to revise and revoke in criminal court and were able to adjust his sentence so that he was eligible to apply for cancellation of removal which he was granted with the help of an immigration attorney, and he has returned home to his family.
Successful appeal of motion to withdraw plea
Our client hired an attorney who attempted to withdraw his 10-year-old guilty plea, but the motion was denied and he was deported. We were retained to handle the appeal. The Appeals Court reversed the denial of the motion and sent the case back down to the trial court for a hearing, where we were ultimately successful.
Conviction vacated, deportation avoided
Our client had lived in the United States since coming here with his family when he was a child but was going to get deported because he had pleaded guilty a few years ago to a minor drug offense. Following an evidentiary hearing, we were able to vacate that plea. Our client is no longer deportable and can remain in the United States with his family.
Motion to revise or revoke sentence
Our client’s conviction several years ago for a minor larceny offense made her deportable as an aggravated felon because the sentence imposed was greater than one year. There is no relief available in immigration court for noncitizens who have an aggravated felony conviction, so her deportation was assured even though she has lived in the United States since she came here with her family when she was just a child. We successfully reduced her sentence through a motion to revise and revoke so she no longer suffers from immigration consequences, and she is now eligible to apply for legal permanent residence.
Conviction vacated
Our client had pleaded guilty several years ago to a minor property offense that had devastating immigration consequences for him. We were able to vacate his criminal conviction so that he was no longer deportable as a result, and he is now eligible to seek lawful resident status in this country.
Conviction vacated
Our client, a lawful permanent resident, had been convicted of two OUI offenses. The way the evidence was presented, the charges were duplicative of each other, and he should not have been convicted of both. One of the charges had dire immigration consequences that caused him to be him deportable. The District Attorney’s Office agreed with our argument and assented to our motion to vacate the problematic portion of his plea and dismiss that charge. Our client is no longer deportable and was able to become a U.S. citizen.
Commonwealth v. Sylvain (II), 473 Mass. 832 (2016)
The Supreme Judicial Court upheld the trial court’s allowance of our motion to vacate our client’s plea where his attorney gave him bad immigration advice. The SJC rejected the Commonwealth’s contention on appeal that a trial court should not have relied on affidavits and affirmed the trial judge’s findings that the evidence we presented at the evidentiary hearing was sufficient to meet our burden.
Plea withdrawn, imminent deportation avoided
Our client, a legal permanent resident who had lived in this country for most of his life, pleaded guilty to a minor drug offense. His trial attorney promised him it would not cause him to be deported, but that was incorrect. After an evidentiary hearing the judge allowed our motion. Our client is now back home with his family and has gone back to school.
Commonwealth v. Sylvain, 466 Mass. 422 (2013)
In this landmark decision – the first of its kind in the country – the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court parted ways with a recent decision of the United States Supreme Court and held that non-citizen defendants in Massachusetts were entitled to the effective assistance of their criminal attorneys in providing them with advice concerning the immigration consequences of their criminal convictions prior to the date of the Supreme Court’s decision in Padilla v. Kentucky in 2010. In February of 2013 the U.S. Supreme Court, in the case of Chaidez v. United States, held that their decision would not be retroactive to cases decided before its decision in Padilla. That meant that any client who pleaded guilty before 2010 would not be able to try and withdraw their plea even if they had not received immigration advice. The SJC’s decision in Sylvain holding Padilla retroactive in Massachusetts will help a countless number of non-citizens get a second chance of remaining in the country if their attorneys had given them bad advice that affected their decision to plead guilty. I represented the defendant in this case along with co-counsel Wendy Wayne of the Committee for Public Counsel Services’ Immigration Impact Unit, with help from attorneys Jennifer Klein and Emma Winger.
Conviction vacated
Several years ago our client had pleaded guilty to a crime in district court and was placed