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April 01, 2010

High court says criminal defendants entitled to competent immigration advice from lawyers

"Immigrants have a constitutional right to be told by their lawyers whether pleading guilty to a crime could lead to their deportation, the Supreme Court said Wednesday.

The high court's ruling extends the Constitution's Sixth Amendment guarantee of "effective assistance of counsel" in criminal cases to immigration advice, especially in cases that involve deportation."

JESSE J. HOLLAND for the Associated Press.

Posted by Dan Kowalski at 06:02 AM |

2 mentally disabled immigrants held for years in Calif. detention centers are freed

"Two immigrants were freed Wednesday from federal detention centers, years after judges put their cases on hold due to serious questions about their mental competence.

Attorneys who filed petitions for the release of Guillermo Gomez Sanchez, 48, and Jose Antonio Franco Gonzalez, 29, said the cases exposed a "black hole" that allows authorities to hold mentally ill immigrants for years without having to explain themselves to a judge or anyone else."

ELLIOT SPAGAT and ROBERT JABLON for the Associated Press.

Posted by Dan Kowalski at 05:56 AM |