news

• 8.28.06 - The defendant moved to withdraw his guilty plea alleging, in part, that his counsel incorrectly advised him that his plea would not affect his immigration status. The Criminal Court of New York County denied the defendant's motion finding, in part,  that he failed to "provide . . . facts that would convince this court that had he known of the immigration consequences at the time of his plea those potential consequences would have overridden his desire for immediate release" -- Click here to read more
   
• 7.24.06 - Defendant claimed that his counsel incorrectly appraised him of the deportation consequences of his plea.  Following a hearing, the Supreme Court, Richmond County, denied Defendant's motion to withdraw his plea, finding that the advice he did receive was essentially correct.  The court went on to recommend that "criminal practitioners, as well as courts, more thoroughly familiarize themselves with the immigration consequences of criminal actions" --  Click here to read more
   
• 6.30.06 - Although not unsympathetic to the plight of the defendant and other non-citizens subject to removal or deportation after decades of residence in the United States, the Second Department denied the defendant's motion to vacate his plea to a misdemeanor drug possession charge. The guilty plea will most likely lead to the defendant's deportation -- Click here to read more
   
• 6.1.06 - After serving 11 years in prison for armed robbery, during which Petitioner learned to be a barber, Petitioner was denied a barber's license as a collateral consequence of his conviction.  Petitioner "won" a 6-year legal battle as a New York Supreme Court Justice found for him in an Article 78 proceeding; but Petitioner died from HIV during pendency, forcing the judge to declare the case moot -- Click here to read more
   
• 5.8.06 - Report from NYCLA: this report expands the focus of collateral consequences to non-criminal adjudications (i.e. petty offenses, such as disorderly conduct), expressing concern about searchable databases that make non-criminal history readily available -- Click here to read more
   
• 5.1.06 - Report from NYSBA: following findings about recidivism, barriers to re-entry, and consequences that stem therefrom, this report details the problems and makes specific recommendations.  The report examines separately the issues of employment, education, benefits, financial penalties, housing, family, civic participation and immigration -- Click here to read more
   
• 2.23.06 - Article from the front page of the New York Times tracks the collateral financial consequences of criminal charges through a variety of examples nationwide -- Click here to read more

• 1.30.06 - A defendant, who had pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor was offered a conditional discharge on condition that he join the Army. The judge reached the decision after learning that the defendant wished to enlist, but would not be allowed to join the Army if he was on probation -- Click here to read more

• 12.2.05 - On August 5, 2005, the New York State Criminal Courts Division of Queens County held that defense counsel's erroneous advice regarding the collateral consequences that a guilty plea would have on a client's eviction process amounted to ineffective assistance of counsel -- Click here to read more

• 8.25.05 - Princeton sociologists launch the Prisoner Reentry Institute's Occasional Series on Reentry Research, sharing their findings from research on the impact of race and criminal record on the entry labor market in New York City -- Click here to read more

• 7.22.05 - Paul Samuels at the Legal Action Center develops legislative proposals to assist the reentry of individuals with
  criminal histories -- Click here to read more