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Proposed MI rule would require judges to warn defendants of risk to residency

By Rick Pluta, Michigan Public Radio Network

LANSING, MI –

The Michigan Supreme Court could adopt a new rule Thursday that would require judges to inform criminal defendants that their guilty pleas could affect their immigration status.

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The proposed rule is a response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that came down in March. The nation's highest court ruled that legal resident Jose Padilla was denied effective assistance of counsel because his lawyer never told him his guilty plea to a charge of marijuana trafficking could lead to deportation. In fact, the plea triggered a process that would have resulted in Padilla being returned to his native Honduras after living in the U.S. for nearly four decades. The U.S. Supreme Court ruling dealt with the attorney-client relationship. The proposed Michigan Supreme Court rule is an effort to reduce the risk of a mistake by also requiring trial judges to inform defendants that a guilty plea could jeopardize their immigration status.

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