State v. Sandoval

¶1 The question presented is whether, in light of the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Padilla v. Kentucky,_U.S._, 130 S. Ct. 1473,176 L. Ed. 2d 284 (2010), a noncitizen criminal defendant can be denied the right to effective assistance of counsel when the defense *167attorney erroneously assures the defendant that the deportation consequence of a guilty plea can be mitigated.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶2 Valentin Sandoval, a noncitizen permanent resident of the United States, was charged with rape in the second degree. The prosecutor offered, in exchange for a guilty plea, to…