Senate Bill S632

                                BILL NUMBER:S632

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the criminal procedure law, in relation to requiring the court,
prior to accepting a plea to a misdemeanor or violation, to advise the
defendant of the risk of deportation if he or she is not a citizen

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
This bill requires notification of alien defendants during the plea
process that pleading guilty to a misdemeanor or violation may
subject them to automatic removal (deportation) or denial of
naturalization.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
This bill adds a new subdivision 5 to section 340.20 of the criminal
procedure law, requiring alien defendants to be notified that
pleading guilty to misdemeanors or violations may have immigration
consequences.
Such notification shall be on the record. For those courts not of
record, the bill requires a writing affirming that the warning was
given contemporaneous with the plea, and a form would suffice for
this purpose.

JUSTIFICATION:
In 1996, Congress made major changes to federal immigration law. Under
              

the new federal law, legal immigrants and residents may be subject to
automatic removal (deportation) even if they plead guilty to some
minor offenses classified under N.Y. law as violations. Deportation
may also be a threat for those whose proceedings do not result in a
conviction under N.Y. law (i.e. entry of guilty plea to drug
treatment on order of court as alternative to conviction and
incarceration).

Unfortunately, defendants pleading guilty to these minor offenses are
unaware of the harsh new federal immigration consequences of doing
so. Because of the broad scope of the 1996 immigration law,
defendants who have plead guilty to some minor offenses, even more
than 25 years ago, are now subject to deportation. As a result,
immigrant communities have lost confidence in state courts and the
criminal justice system generally.

This bill requires defendants to be notified during the plea process
for misdemeanors and violations that pleading guilty may subject them
to automatic deportation or denial of naturalization. Legal residents
and immigrants will now have the opportunity to consider the harsh
immigration consequences of pleading guilty to a minor offense, even
if doing so would have provided no sentence or fine.

At least nine other states have similar statutes or court rules
requiring notification prior to accepting a defendant's plea,
including:
Massachusetts, 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.


Defendants should, at the very least, be made aware that pleading
guilty to some of these minor offenses could put them on a plane out
of the country or worse -- removal to a detention center cell for an
indefinite term while awaiting deportation. This bill, while
providing no rights to illegal immigrants, provides legal immigrants
and residents with the protection of making a plea with the
understanding of its immigration consequences.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
S.4077/A.7175 of 1999-2000 Passed Assembly
A.7702 of 2001-2002 Passed Assembly
A.6019 of 2003-2004 Rules Committee
A.6884 of 2005-2006 Codes Committee
A.4166 of 2007-2008 Codes Committee
S.4399-A/A.4963-A of 2010

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the 90th day after enactment.