About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

121 Yale L. J. 944 (2011-2012)
Padilla v. Kentucky: The Effect of Plea Colloquy Warnings on Defendants' Ability to Bring Successful Padilla Claims

handle is hein.journals/ylr121 and id is 948 raw text is: DANIELLE M. LANG Padilla v. Kentucky: The Effect of Plea Colloquy Warnings on Defendants' Ability To Bring Successful Padilla Claims A B S T R A C T. In Padilla v. Kentucky, the Supreme Court held that a lawyer's failure to advise her noncitizen client of the deportation consequences of a guilty plea constitutes deficient performance of counsel in violation of a defendant's Sixth Amendment rights. In the plea context, defendants are also protected by the Fifth Amendment privilege against self- incrimination and the Due Process Clause, which requires that judges and defendants engage in a conversation regarding the consequences of the plea- the so-called plea colloquy-- before the defendant can enter a valid guilty plea. In many plea colloquies, judges issue general warnings to defendants regarding the immigration consequences of a guilty plea. Since Padilla, a number of lower courts have held that such general court warnings prevent a defendant from proving prejudice and prevailing on an ineffective assistance of counsel claim where there might otherwise be a Padilla Sixth Amendment violation. This Note argues that those rulings mistakenly conflate the role of the court in a Fifth Amendment plea colloquy and the role of counsel under the Sixth Amendment and, further, that they misread the clear directives of Padilla. In the plea context, the court and defense counsel serve complementary but distinct functions in our constitutional structure; neither can replace the other, and the failure of either court or counsel constitutes a breakdown in our system. Circumscribing Padilla's requirements by allowing plea colloquies to cure the prejudice created by Sixth Amendment Padilla violations is problematic because the Fifth Amendment plea colloquy provides significantly less protection to criminal defendants. Thus, the substitution of the plea colloquy for advice from counsel will substantially undercut the Padilla decision. A U T H O R. Yale Law School, J.D. expected 2012; New York University, B.A. 2008. Thanks to Professor Lucas Guttentag for inspiration, to Jeffrey Meyer and Rachael Doud for thoughtful suggestions, and to Rob Kantner for endless encouragement and support. 944

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most