In a decision that one justice called “a major upheaval in Sixth Amendment law,” the Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that lawyers have a constitutional obligation to advise clients of the collateral immigration consequences of a guilty plea in a criminal case.
The ruling came in Padilla v. Kentucky, which was eagerly awaited by bar leaders who have focused attention on the professional obligation of lawyers to alert clients about the growing array of consequences that flow from pleading or being found guilty. We wrote about the issue here last fall.
