National Immigration Project Victory before NM Supreme Court

       This last year I had the privilege of representing the National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, as well as the New Mexico Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, and the New Mexico Civil Liberties Union (the litigation arm of the ACLU of New Mexico) as amicus curiae in the New Mexico Supreme Court.  We filed  a brief and did the majority of the oral argument before the Court in State v. Paredez, and I will send the opinion in a subsequent e-mail. 
    In that case, State v. Paredez, 2004 NMSC 36; 101 P.3d 799; 2004 N.M. LEXIS 495 (2004), the New Mexico Supreme Court unanimously held that a criminal defendant's attorney has "an affirmative duty to determine [the client's] immigration status and provide him with specific advice regarding the impact a guilty plea would have on his immigration status."
    The court "address[ed] the role of criminal defense attorneys in informing their clients of the immigration consequences of a guilty plea", and held that both affirmatively wrong advice and "non-advice" are ineffective assistance of counsel.
    "We hold that criminal defense attorneys are obligated to determine the immigration status of their clients.  If a client is a non-citizen, the attorney must advise that client of the specific immigration consequences of pleading guilty, including whether deportation would be virtually certain.  Proper advice will allow the defendant to make a knowing and voluntary decision to plead guilty.  Furthermore, requiring the attorney to give such advice is consistent with the spirit of Rule 5-303(E)(5), which prohibits the district court from accepting a guilty plea without first determining that the defendant has an understanding of the immigration consequences of the plea.  An attorney's failure to provide the required advice regarding immigration consequences will be ineffective assistance of counsel if the defendant suffers prejudice by the attorney's omission."
    The opinion, by Justice Minzner, also suggests a re-draft of the rule with respect to the trial judge's duties in accepting a plea.
    It was good for the immigration bar, the criminal defense bar, and the premier civil liberties group in the state to unite and present one front for what the law on this important topic should be, and the decision represents a great leap forward for thousands of people for years to come.
    Tova Indritz

Activities and Accomplishments 2004

Here is a list of activities the New Mexico Chapter of the NLG participated in in 2004.

1. January 17, 2004. Democratic caucus event at the
law school to inform people on the changing procedure
to select a Democratic presidential candidate.
Co-sponsored by New Mexico Women’s Bar Association.

2. February 3, 2004. Louie Boelcke and Cindy Marrs
volunteered as poll watchers at the Democratic Party
caucuses in February. We received medals from
Governor Richardson “for service to the state.”

3. February 23 and 24th, 2004. The NLG of New Mexico
co-sponsored several informative and action
orientated talks by Jeff Halper, Israeli Human Rights
Activist and Coordinator of the Israeli Coalition
Against Home Demolition, entitled "Between Two
Impossibilities: Ending the Occupation and a
Democratic State in Israel/Palestine." These meetings were held
at the Peace and Justice Center, the Law school and the Unitarian
church.

4. March 13, 2004 We showed the Street Heat video at
the Peace and Justice Center. This documentary shows
the March 20,2002 peace march and police attack on the
protesters. Our case with the ACLU against APD for
violating the First Amendment rights of the war
protesters is ongoing. Larry Kronen, Cindy Marrs,
Louie Boelcke, David Stotts and Cammie Nichols have
been working on the case.

5. April 15, 2004 Larry Kronen and Cindy Marrs
volunteered as legal observers at the peace march
which began at the university bookstore and ended at
Lockheed Martin.

6. April 25, 2004 The Korean Peace Project held a
seminar at Sunrise Springs Retreat Center in Santa Fe
called “Lessons from Korea: A Day of Peacemaking and
Constructive Dialog.” For more information,
see the website for the project at:
http://www.nlg.org/korea/

7. June 28, 2004 Fahrenheit 911 party at Cindy
Marrs’ house to discuss the movie and plan action.
Held in conjunction with moveon.org.

8. August 6, 2004. Hiroshima Day at Los Alamos.
Martin Neas, Cindy Marrs and Larry Kronen volunteered
as legal observers. The peace march was organized by
Pax Christie.

9. August 30 – September 2, 2004 Jama Fisk went to
the Republican National Convention in NY in September
as a legal observer.

10. October 1, 2004 Eric Sirotkin, Louie Boelcke and
Cindy Marrs held a meeting at the law school to
discuss the International Criminal Court. Held in
conjunction with the ICC coalition of New Mexico.

11. October 23, 2004 Eric Sirotkin, Jennie Lusk and
other Korea Peace delegation members made a panel
presentation at the NLG convention in Birmingham.

12. November 2, 2004 Rachel Fetty, Louie Boelcke and
Cindy Marrs volunteered as poll watchers on behalf of
the Democratic Party.

13. November 20, 2004. The Korean Peace Project held
a seminar called "Possibilities for Peace on the
Korean Peninsula" at the law school. Jennie Lusk was
awarded a grant from the New Mexico Endowment for the
Humanities to sponsor the seminar.

14. December 4, 2004 Copwatch training. Martin Neas
and Cindy Marrs conducted a training on civil rights
during police encounters.

15. December 15, 2004 Community dialogue for a new
peace movement at the Peace and Justice Center, Eric
Sirotkin, facilitator.

We also have a blog where you can find more detailed
information on Guild activities. Please send postings
about your Guild work to cmarrs@flash.net . See the
blog at: http://nlgnm.blogspot.com