U.S. v. Chezan

Federal 7th Circuit Court
Criminal Court
Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
Citation
Case Number: 
No. 16-1134
Decision Date: 
July 20, 2016
Federal District: 
N.D. Ill., E. Div.
Holding: 
Affirmed

Record contained sufficient evidence to support Dist. Ct.’s finding that defendant’s counsel had not rendered ineffective assistance of counsel prior to defendant pleading guilty to charge of aiding and abetting marriage fraud in violation of 18 USC section 1546(a), even though defendant asserted that: (1) trial counsel failed to warn him that said guilty plea would certainly result in his deportation; and (2) had he known of true deportation consequences, he would not have pleaded guilty. Trial counsel was not ineffective since record showed that counsel told defendant that he would not likely have valid defense to any deportation proceeding that would inevitable follow his guilty plea to instant marriage fraud charge. As such, defendant had full knowledge of risk of deportation following his guilty to plea. Moreover, instant guilty plea resulted in favorable dismissal of mortgage fraud charge that also placed defendant at separate risk of deportation.