RPW Assists with Post-Conviction Relief for Immigrant Clients in Washington State

Since 1983, defense counsel has had a duty to inform clients about the immigration consequences of their plea; however, that duty was misunderstood by many attorneys as being outside of the scope of their representation as it was viewed as a collateral consequence of a conviction. The U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Padilla underscored that it was not a collateral consequence and that no advice or false advice would be grounds for appeal. Now, the Washington Defender Association (WDA) is helping individuals who did not receive immigration advice and had adverse immigration consequences get back into court.

In partnership with the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, RPW will focus on helping noncitizen clients return to court to remedy the adverse immigration consequences of their criminal convictions. WDA’s Immigration Resource Attorney, Sarah Hudson, provides support and advice to attorneys working on post-conviction relief for noncitizen clients. You can reach Sarah here. She is available to assist with training and consult on post-conviction relief cases.