ALBANY – A Nigerian native did not receive ineffective assistance of counsel when he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor after his lawyer told him he was unlikely to face immigration consequences for doing so, a state appeals court ruled.
A unanimous Appellate Division, Third Department panel in People v. Obeya, 105313, denied Clement Obeya’s motion to vacate his July 2008 conviction for petit larceny based on his contention that trial attorney David Ehrlich left Obeya and Obeya’s aunt with the “distinct impression” that the guilty plea was unlikely to affect the defendant’s immigration status.
