Post Conviction Relief
Motions to vacate criminal convictions are among the most important and effective ‘tools’ an experienced immigration and criminal defense attorney has to defend a foreign born client in immigration court removal (deportation) proceedings. This motion to vacate is filed in the California state court where the criminal conviction occurred. The grounds for filing this motion arise when the non-citizen was not adequately informed by the judge or the defense attorney about the adverse immigration consequences of being convicted of the crime for which the non-citizen has pled guilty or no contest. This motion can be brought even many years after the non-citizen was sentenced. If the criminal conviction is vacated, then the underlying immigration removal proceeding can be terminated because there would no longer be a criminal conviction upon which the government could rely to deport that person
Motions to modify conviction(s) are brought for non-citizens whenever their prior criminal conviction(s) are classified by the U.S.C.I.S. as “aggravated felonies”. Such convictions may result in permanent removal (deportation) from the U.S. By modifying the sentence, for example, from one year to 364 days, we can change the classification from an aggravated felony to a simple felony which may not be used as a basis for deportation by the U.S.C.I.S. or by the immigration courts
For more information about the post conviction relief in Florida & other states, please contact our office.
