Securing Post-conviction Relief for Immigrants

• Jurisdiction: California,United States
• Citation: Vol. 17 No. 3
• Publication year: 2017
• Author: By Timothy E. Warriner
• topic: Immigration Law,Criminal Law,Civil Procedure

SECURING POST-CONVICTION RELIEF FOR IMMIGRANTS

By Timothy E. Warriner^*

Many new laws affecting the practice of criminal law have been enacted. One of them, AB 813, is of particular importance to California's immigrants. It adds Section 1473.7 to the Penal Code.

SECTION 1.

Section 1473.7 is added to the Penal Code, to read:

1473.7.

(a) A person no longer imprisoned or restrained may prosecute a motion to vacate a conviction or sentence for either of the following reasons:

(1) The conviction or sentence is legally invalid due to a prejudicial error damaging the moving party's ability to meaningfully understand, defend against, or knowingly accept the actual or potential adverse immigration consequences of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere.
(2) Newly discovered evidence of actual innocence exists that requires vacation of the conviction or sentence as a matter of law or in the interests of justice.

(b) A motion...