» Criminal Law & Municipal Court

We had written earlier about the potential impact of the proposed Conditional Dismissal Program on alien defendants in Municipal Court. We just learned today that the Bill was signed into law by the Governor and will become effective within 120 days.… Read More

At the end of April, the Supreme Court issued a significant decision with far reaching implications for aliens charged with criminal offenses, particularly drug ones. The case is Moncrieffe v. Holder. Mr. Moncrieffe was pulled over by the police, who… Read More

Rosevela Chaidez was a permanent resident of the United States. She was arrested for mail fraud in connection with an insurance scam, and was advised by her lawyer to plead guilty. Her lawyer advised her to plead guilty, and she only received four ye… Read More

The BIA released a very interesting decision recently that can have potential immigration ramifications for anybody convicted in our state’s municipal courts. The case is Matter of Roberto Cuellar-Gomez, 25 I&N 850 (BIA 2012). There were se… Read More

There is a common misconception out there that when a criminal conviction or arrest is expunged or “wiped out,” it is gone. Since the record is sealed, for all practical purposes, it is as if the event never happened. While this is true i… Read More

In an interesting development, the Supreme Court of the United States has decided to hear arguments and issue the final word on whether the decision in Padilla vs. Kentucky applies retroactively. As we have blogged about earlier, Padilla vs. Kentucky… Read More

Just yesterday, The New Jersey Supreme Court just handed down a decision in the consolidated cases of Gaitan and Gouldbourne. In a very simple nutshell, the court decided that Padilla vs. Kentucky announced a new constitutional rule of law that does… Read More

As a member of AILA (the American Immigration Lawyers Association), I have been hearing some horror stories of undocumented aliens being apprehended by ICE in municipal court after appearing for a DWI case. These incidents are not anecdotal rumors by… Read More