Ineffective assistance of counsel
Our office is retained or sometimes appointed by the federal court to represent criminal defendants. Some accused defendants, while they may even be legal residents, are not natural born U.S. citizens and thus the outcome of the federal criminal charges could lead to deportation. In the March 31, 2010 decision from the U.S. Supreme Court in Padilla v. Kentucky, http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/09pdf/08-651.pdf the Court essentially held that when defense counsel fails to notify a criminal defendant that a plea or conviction in a case could lead to deportation, then such defendant has a valid ineffective assistance of counsel claim as it would violate the defendant’s constitutional right to a fair trial.