State v. Ramos

¶1 We once again address the ramifications of Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356, 130 S. Ct. 1473, 176 L. Ed. 2d 284 (2010). In 1997, noncitizen Juan Pedro Ramos pled guilty to the crime of first degree theft. Through an appeal and a personal restraint petition, Ramos seeks to vacate the guilty plea, claiming his criminal defense attorney failed to inform him that the crime was a *746deportable offense. We rule that Ramos did not suffer from ineffective assistance of counsel, since the immigration consequences of his plea were not clear and he was warned of possible deportation. We deny the plea…