Recently, at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Courthouse in Los Angeles County, Attorney Steve Escovar was able to successfully litigate a post-conviction Penal Code section 1473.7 Motion to vacate our client’s Health and Safety Code section 11352(a), “Transportation for Sale of a Controlled Substance” conviction from 2005.
Pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(43)(B), a conviction under Health and Safety Code section 11352(a) is considered an aggravated felony for federal immigration purposes and subjects our client to deportation pursuant to 8 U.S.C. section 1227(a)(2)(A)(iii). Further, this conviction is considered a crime involving moral turpitude and further subjects our client to deportation pursuant to 8 U.S.C. 1127(a)(2)(B)(i)) and exclusion from the United States pursuant to 8 U.S.C. section 1182(a)(2)(A)(i)(II), as a matter of law. Thus, we evaluated the case for possible post-conviction relief.
After obtaining the court file for this matter, we were able to locate the transcript of the plea which indicated that our client was advised that the immigration consequences of his plea “will result” in his deportation, denial of naturalization, denial of re-entry into this country, as well as exclusion from admission. Despite the fact that the transcript indicates that our client was advised that he will be deported, denied naturalization, denied re-entry and denied exclusion from admission, in this particular setting, with this particular defendant, with this particular defendant, he misunderstood that the immigration consequences of the controlled substances charge that he was pleading to were permanent and by pleading to the offense he would never be admitted as a lawful permanent resident and never be permitted to naturalize as a United States citizen. Thus, we filed a Penal Code section 1473.7 motion to vacate the plea on his behalf.
At the motion hearing our motion was granted without opposition and the case was completely dismissed pursuant to Penal Code section 1382, “Unable to Proceed.”
This is an amazing result for our client that will allow him the opportunity to remain in the United States!
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