On a 5-2 vote, the Michigan Supreme Court has declined to adopt court rules that would have required judges to either (a) inquire whether a defendant knows that pleading guilty may have potential immigration consequences or (b) provide an advice of rights to that effect.
In Padilla v. Kentucky, 130 S. Ct. 1473 (2010), the U.S. Supreme Court held that an attorney provided ineffective assistance by not telling a client that pleading guilty to a drug charge could get him deported.
The MSC didn’t provide a reason why it passed on both versions of proposed amendments to MCR 6.302 and MCR 6.610.
Justices Marilyn Kelly and Michael Cavanagh dissented from the majority’s May 16 decision.
The Michigan Lawyer 