Recently, at the Downey Courthouse in Los Angeles County, I obtained a dismissal on behalf of my client for his 1990 Health & Safety Code section 11550(b)(Under the Influence of a Controlled Substance) conviction.
In our motion, we argued that the court file and all other sources of information pertaining to the offense failed to establish that the complete and accurate immigration advisements required by Penal Code section 1016.5 were administered to our client. Based on the fact that the court file was purged and destroyed, and no other documents showed that the required admonishments were provided, we argued the plea must be vacated.
Our client was suffering immigration prejudice resulting from his 1990 misdemeanor conviction and his controlled substance conviction made him an enforcement priority for deportation, exclusion from admission to the United States and denial of naturalization.
At the hearing on the motion, the Penal Code section 1016.5 motion was granted, vacating the conviction, and the case was subsequently dismissed pursuant to Penal Code section 1385. With this dismissal, our client now has an opportunity to stay united with his family in the United States.
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