People v. Deltoro

Defendant, a legal permanent resident of U.S., entered negotiated guilty pleas to unlawful possession of controlled substance with intent to deliver. Defendant was to be released from MSR to federal immigration authorities, as when pleading guilty to offense relating to a controlled substance, deportation is presumptively mandatory. Defendant presented gist of a constitutional claim for ineffective assistance of plea counsel. Existence of plausible trial defense is not required to show prejudice in cases involving counsel's failure to advise a defendant as to immigration consequences of his guilty plea. Defendant was arguably prejudiced by his plea counsel's deficient performance, as Defendant alleged that he would not have pled guilty if plea counsel had fully advised him of potential immigration consequences of his plea (McDADE and O'BRIEN, concurring.)