Standard applied to drug plea with deportation consequences
The California Supreme Court ruled Thursday that signing a translated plea form does not by itself prove a defendant understood the consequences of pleading guilty. The court applied that standard to the case of Angela Hernandez, who was charged with two drug offenses in Kern County, California, in 2013.
Hernandez had been a legal permanent resident of the United States for 19 years and was 55 at the time of her arrest. She had a father, husband, children and grandchildren living in the United States.
At her trial, Hernandez signed a form acknowledging that a conviction could result in her deportation. An interpreter certified that they had translated the whole form, and her attorney was confident Hernandez understood it.
Those steps were not enough, the court ruled. It held that a defendant must “meaningfully understand” what a plea deal commits them to, and that checking a form’s boxes does not, by itself, establish that understanding.
For noncitizen defendants, the consequences of a plea can extend beyond the criminal sentence to include deportation.
Writing about the errors in Hernandez’s case specifically, the court concluded: “Were it not for these errors, there is a reasonable probability that she would have rejected the plea offer and either attempted to negotiate a plea with less dire immigration consequences or taken her case to trial.”