Amd §§170.10, 180.10, 210.15, 220.50, 220.60 & 440.10, CP L
Requires the court to advise a defendant that if he or she is an alien and he or she is convicted of a crime, whether by plea or trial, such conviction may result in his or her deportation; allows a withdrawal of a plea of guilty by an alien if such alien is threatened with deportation and such alien is not so advised of such threat of deportation.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A2189
SPONSOR: Kim TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the criminal procedure law, in
relation to requiring an advisement by a court regarding the possible
consequences to an alien of the acceptance of a plea of guilty to a
crime under state law
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to require courts to advise aliens of depor-
tation consequences upon the acceptance of a guilty plea and to allow
aliens to withdraw a guilty plea should such communication not take
place.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
This legislation amends sections 170.10, 180.10, 210.15, 220.50, 220.60
and 440.10 of the criminal procedure law to provide that prior to
acceptance of a guilty plea by an alien to any felony or misdemeanor
count, the court must advise such person of the grounds for deportation
or denial of naturalization for such guilty plea. This communication
must be recorded in the Court's record and the defendants would not be
required to disclose his or her citizenship or immigration status at the
time of entry of a plea. If the court fails to so advise the defendant,
he or she will have the right to withdraw the guilty plea.
JUSTIFICATION:
Many individuals who are not citizens and are accused of a crime under
State law are not aware of the fact that acceptance of a guilty plea
could constitute grounds for deportation or denial of naturalization.
Allowing guilty pleas taken in ignorance of major consequences consti-
tutes a denial of elementary concepts of fairness and may also consti-
tute a denial of due process.
Immigrant defendants need to be notified during the plea process for
felonies and misdemeanors that pleading guilty may subject them to auto-
matic deportation or denial of naturalization. Under this legislation,
legal residents and immigrants would now have the opportunity to consid-
er the harsh immigration consequences of pleading guilty to a minor
offense, even if doing so would have provided no sentence or a limited
fine.
Several other states have similar statutes or court rules requiring
notification prior to accepting a defendant's plea including: Massachu-
setts, Connecticut, Texas, Florida, California and the District of
Columbia; most of these states allow the plea to be vacated if the
prescribed warning is not given. It is time for New York to follow the
lead of its neighboring states, particularly given the state's large
immigrant population.
Defendants should, at the very least, be made aware that pleading guilty
to even a minor offense could result in their deportation or denial of
naturalization, and should be fully aware of such consequences before
making their decision.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2005-2006: Referred to Codes (S.2355)
2009-2010: Referred to Codes (S.2254)
2011-2012: Referred to Codes (S. 1018)
2013-2014:(A.7283)(Kim)
2015-2016: (A.2530)(Kim)
1/13/2017 referred to codes
1/03/2018 referred to codes
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeeding the
date on which it shall have become law, provided, however, that the
amendments to subdivision 7 of section 220.50 of the criminal procedure
law made by section five of this act shall not affect the repeal of such
subdivision and shall be deemed repealed therewith.
