A 2010 U.S. Supreme Court decision requiring criminal defense attorneys to inform noncitizen clients of the deportation risks of guilty pleas is not retroactive, the justices held on Wednesday.
Justice Elena Kagan, writing for a 7-2 majority in Chaidez v. U.S., said the court’s 2010 decision in Padilla v. Kentucky announced a “new rule,” and under the court’s retroactivity analysis, a person whose conviction was final before the 2010 decision cannot benefit from a new rule of criminal procedure on collateral review.
