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She Pleaded Guilty to a Drug Charge. Then She Visited Mexico Not Knowing She Couldn’t Return
The court said her plea record did not show she meaningfully understood deportation risks and ordered the case back to trial court.
- On Thursday, the California Supreme Court ruled that defendants must "meaningfully understand" the legal consequences of plea deals, reversing a lower court decision in Angela Hernandez's deportation case.
- Hernandez, a citizen of Mexico and 19-year legal resident of the United States, was charged with two drug offenses in Kern County in 2013 and pleaded guilty while signing an "ALIEN STATUS" form regarding deportation.
- After Hernandez signed the form, she testified that she did not fully grasp the immigration consequences, stating "Sign here, initial here, I'm going to sign" in court according to the ruling.
- The 5th District Court of Appeals must vacate her convictions on remand, though Justice Carol Corrigan requested a "fuller presentation" to resolve factual and credibility issues before making a proper ruling.
- Public defenders and immigration advocates argued that California courts have inconsistent policies on notifying defendants about deportation consequences, prompting this ruling to establish a "meaningfully understand" standard for future plea deals.
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Associated Press News+15 Reposted by 15 other sources
She pleaded guilty to a drug charge. Then she visited Mexico not knowing she couldn’t return
At her trial, there’s no question that Angela Hernandez signed a form acknowledging that she could be deported after a criminal conviction.
·New York, United States
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Total News Sources18
Leaning Left3Leaning Right0Center10Last UpdatedBias Distribution77% Center
Bias Distribution
- 77% of the sources are Center
77% Center
L 23%
C 77%
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