Padilla v. Kentucky
- Decided
- March 31, 2010
- Docket
- 08-651
- Status
- Published
- Jurisdiction
- Federal
Cited 5,017 timesAbrogated in part on other grounds (not yet verified)Possible negative treatment: abrogated in part on other grounds (not yet verified) · State v. Nunez-Diaz
What later courts said
- holding that counsel has a duty under the Sixth Amendment to inform a noncitizen defendant that his plea would make him eligible for deportation — Vartelas v. Holder (2012)
- holding that a guilty plea, based on a plea offer, should be set aside because counsel misinformed the defendant of the immigration consequences of the conviction — Alcorn v. State (2013)
- holding that “counsel must inform her client whether his plea carries a risk of deportation” — State v. Ali (2011)
Each line is a later court’s own words about this case, not a summary. Read the opinion before relying on it.
How the opinion begins
[*359] Justice Stevens delivered the opinion of the Court.
Petitioner Jose Padilla, a native of Honduras, has been a lawful permanent resident of the United States for more than 40 years. Padilla served this Nation with honor as a member of the U. S. Armed Forces during the Vietnam War. He now faces deportation after pleading guilty to the transportation of a large amount of marijuana in his tractor-trailer in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.[1]
In this postconviction proceeding, Padilla claims that his counsel not only failed to advise him of this consequence prior to his entering the plea, but also told him that he “ 'did not have to worry about immigration status since he had been in the country so long’” 253 S. W. 3d 482, 483 (Ky. 2008). Padilla relied on his counsel’s erroneous advice when he pleaded guilty to the drug charges that made his deportation virtually mandatory. He alleges that he would have insisted on going to trial if he had not received incorrect advice from his attorney.
Statutes cited
Cite this
Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (2010)Read the full opinion
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