DEPORTATION DEFENSE

The Law Office of David B. Calender provides competent, aggressive legal representation in all deportation cases. However, due to constraints of space, the scope of this commentary is limited to situations where a "green card" holder faces deportation as a result of having taken a plea in a criminal case to certain offenses. The threat of deportation applies equally to a person who, as part of a plea agreement entered into with the District Attorney in order to avoid a trial, took a guilty plea many years ago. Therefore, a defendant in a criminal case who is a non-U.S. citizen must ensure that s/he is represented by an attorney who is familiar with the immigration consequences of pleading guilty to certain offenses in a "plea bargain" deal with the District Attorney. My reference to "non-U.S. citizen" includes lawful permanent residents of the United States ("Green Card" holders).

In this highly complex and evolving area of the law, there is an intersection between immigration law and criminal law.  Click Here   The prospect of deportation has now become a critical factor in matters involving non-citizen defendants who plead guilty - and even those who pleaded guilty years ago -  to certain offenses.

Proper representation of a non-citizen criminal defendant begins with the lawyer's firm understanding of the client's individual situation and overall objectives, including immigration considerations. In many cases, the client's greatest potential difficulty, and greatest priority, will be the immigration consequences of a criminal conviction.