Court of Appeals to Hear Arguments on Padilla Retroactivity on May 1st

IDP filed an amici brief in People v. Baret, asserting that the New York criminal defense bar’s diligent response to the draconian immigration laws passed in 1996 supports Padilla retroactivity as a matter of state law. 440 litigants may find the brief useful for its compilation of resources – trainings, publications, hotline support – available to support defense attorneys in their representation of immigrant clients. Learn more about Padilla Post Conviction relief here.

Signatories to the brief include the New York State Defenders Association, the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and many other New York criminal defense organizations. The brief presents the view of criminal defense organizations that diligent attorneys in NY took advantage of these available resources and acted to protect their clients from deportation when possible by seeking dispositions that mitigated or avoided immigration consequences.