DEMO Review

The Problem: You're Not An Immigration Lawyer

Immigration rights lawyers called Padilla v. Kentucky 559 U.S. ___ (3/31/2010)* historic in holding that
criminal defense lawyers must inform clients, when it is "truly clear," that a plea carries the risk of deportation.

But, when is anything published by the federal government truly clear?

Padilla has created the single most burdensome obligation that the Court has ever imposed upon the
criminal defense bar.

Simply put: Padilla requires the defense bar to learn a lot about federal immigration law, and very quickly.
Criminal defense attorneys throughout the United States are now required --- upon pain of Constitutional
ineffectiveness --- to be conversant in all definitions of the term "aggravated felony;" they will be expected to
know what does and does not constitute a "conviction" --- a term which, under federal immigration law, is
defined far more broadly than its equivalent in many states, and to have a working knowledge of how a
client's past criminal record may combine with the plea in question to raise a serious risk of deportation. They
will be expected to have a working knowledge of "crimes of moral turpitude," and to be able to articulate the
differences between the application of inadmissibility and deportability.

The Solution: Crime-IQ Enhanced Immigration Edition

Crime-IQ makes the immigration advice required by Padilla easy and instantly accessible.** Each offense
screen has an immigration link signaling that the offense may be deportable as an aggravated felony or
deportable on independent grounds. Also included are New Practical Immigration Guidelines To:

- Define / Distinguish Between Deportability, Inadmissibility and Ineligibility

- Define Aggravated Felony and "One-Year" Aggravated Felony

- Define Deportability of a Crime of Moral Turpitude.

- Define "Sentence" and "Conviction" for Immigration Purposes

- Provide Sentencing / Plea Strategies To Avoid Or Mitigate Immigration Consequences For "Aggravated
Felony" Charges, Firearm Offenses, Drug Offenses, DUI Offenses And Domestic Violence Offenses.

______________________________________

* In Padilla v. Kentucky the court held that by not informing a client that he was subject to deportation after pleading guilty to the
transportation of a large amount of marijuana, the defense attorney had failed to provide effective assistance. "Padilla's crime,
like virtually every drug offense except for only the most insignificant marijuana offenses, is a deportable offense under 8 U. S.
C. §1227(a)(2)(B)(i)."

Justice Stephens added that where a simple reading of the statute would have told the lawyer her client would face certain
deportation, failing to provide that information denies the defendant the effective assistance of counsel.

The Crime-IQ Offense Screen for H&S 11360, shows in seconds the potential immigration consequence of
8 U. S. C. §1227(a)(2)(B)

** Existing 2010 Users Will Automatically Be Upgraded To The Enhanced Immigration Edition.