Commonwealth v. Erilus

The defendant, Ralph Erilus, appeals from the denial of an assented-to motion to vacate his guilty plea on the basis of ineffective assistance of counsel. Specifically, he claims that when he pleaded guilty in January, 2017, his attorney did not advise him that the plea would subject him to virtually automatic deportation. He further asserted that if he had been informed of the consequences, as an almost life-long resident of the United States, he would have taken the risk of going to trial. The motion judge, who was also the plea judge, denied the motion, as well as a subsequent motion for…