Jim, an accountant working overtime during tax season, got pulled over for speeding. The police officer found out that Jim had committed insurance fraud in the past and was not a U.S. citizen. Because of his past crime and noncitizen status, immigration officials were called to take Jim into custody. Jim was arrested for a speeding ticket, but it wasn’t just about the ticket. Homeland Security wanted to arrest him because of a past conviction. Even though he had been in the U.S. for a long time, had a job, a house, and a family here, he was still deported because of new laws. He had already paid his dues for his past mistake, but it didn’t matter. After eight months in custody, he was sent back to his home country. Jim was convicted of a serious crime and now faces deportation because of a new law. His only hope is to challenge his conviction using Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. This rule allows him to argue that he never should have been convicted in the first place. He can claim things like his lawyer didn’t do a good job, or that he was never told about the risk of deportation. If the court agrees, Jim might be able to avoid deportation. He has to act within a certain time limit and follow specific rules, but it’s his best chance to stay in the country. If someone is in state custody and wants to challenge their conviction in federal court, they can do so if they believe their rights under the U.S. Constitution have been violated. However, they must first try to appeal the conviction in state court. There is a time limit for filing a petition in federal court, and it can be paused during state court proceedings. If the person’s plea is vacated in state court, they may face the possibility of being prosecuted again. So, they should be careful about asking for their plea to be vacated, as it could lead to more legal trouble. If they do go back to trial, they may try to negotiate a plea with no negative immigration consequences. Jim was in trouble for insurance fraud, but his family hired a good lawyer to review his case. It turned out that the court didn’t tell Jim that he could be deported because of his plea, so the court had to let him go. He finished his punishment and didn’t have to go to court again for insurance fraud. Thanks to his lawyer, Jim and his family lived happily ever after. This article is written by a lawyer who specializes in criminal law.
Source: https://www.floridabar.org/the-florida-bar-journal/avoiding-deportation-by-vacating-state-court-convictions/
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