CA5 on Ineffective Assistance of Counsel: USA v. Batamula

"Innocent Rutahagara Batamula, a citizen of Tanzania, after entering the United States on a student visa, marrying a United States citizen, and applying for a change in his immigration status, pleaded guilty pursuant to a written plea agreement to one count of making a false statement to a federal agent, 18 U.S.C. § 1001, and one count of making a false statement in an application for a passport, 18 U.S.C. § 1542. The court sentenced Batamula to time served, one year of supervised release, and a $2,000 fine. Batamula did not appeal from his conviction or sentence but filed a motion for habeas corpus pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255, asserting that his retained attorney provided ineffective assistance of counsel under Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (2010), by failing to advise him that the offenses to which he was pleading guilty would result in his deportation. The district court denied Batamula’s § 2255 motion, we granted a certificate of appealability, and Batamula now appeals. For the reasons assigned hereinafter, we REVERSE the judgment of the district court and REMAND the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

... The Court has therefore made it abundantly clear that although entering a guilty plea results in the forfeiture of certain constitutional claims, it does not bar a post-conviction collateral attack on the conviction and sentence based upon ineffective representation leading up to the entry of the guilty plea. Padilla exemplifies this well-established rule that entry of a guilty plea, despite generic warnings from the court regarding the possible consequences of the guilty plea, does not foreclose the defendant from demonstrating that counsel’s ineffective advice regarding the deportation consequences of conviction prejudiced the proceedings. ... For these reasons, we conclude that a judge’s statement at the guilty plea proceeding that deportation is “likely” is not dispositive of whether a petitioner whose counsel failed to advise him regarding the immigration consequences of his plea can demonstrate prejudice as a result therefrom. Batamula thus is not foreclosed from challenging his guilty plea under Padilla solely because the district court notified him that deportation following the service of his sentence is “likely,” and the district court erred in holding to the contrary. The record is currently insufficiently developed for us to apply the fact-intensive, totality of the circumstances prejudice analysis necessary to determine whether Batamula is entitled to relief on his Sixth Amendment claim. We therefore REVERSE and REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion." - USA v. Batamula, June 2, 2015.  [Hats off to George W. Vie III!]