People v. Pozo

I respectfully dissent.

The majority holds today that an attorney’s failure to inform his client of the possible deportation consequences of a guilty plea may constitute ineffective assistance of counsel and thus render the plea involuntary. By casting its analysis in terms of the effectiveness of counsel and focusing on the severity of a collateral consequence of a guilty plea, the majority loses sight of the nature of the right at issue. I believe that the defendant’s guilty pleas are not constitutionally infirm and would reverse the holding of the court of appeals and affirm the trial…