Brief filed: 05/21/2018
Documents
Arjune v. New York
United States Supreme Court; Case No. 17-8587
Prior Decision
Decision below 30 N.Y.3d 347 (2017)
Argument(s)
This Court should grant certiorari to clarify counsel’s constitutional obligation under Flores-Ortega to consult with criminal defendants regarding their right to appeal. This Court has held that criminal defendants have a constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel during appeals as of right. Professional Rules of Conduct provide a template for protecting the Sixth Amendment rights of defendants like Mr. Arjune who must obtain separate counsel to pursue an appeals and must be followed to ensure effective assistance of counsel. Mr. Arjune’s counsel flagrantly violated the foregoing principles and abandoned Mr. Arjune on appeal. The Court should grant certiorari to clarify that a notice provided by the trial court clerk is not a substitute for effective assistance of counsel. The Court should grant certiorari to clarify the relationship between Flores-Ortega and Padilla regarding an obligation to advise noncitizen defendants of the potential impact of an appeal on immigration status.
Author(s)
Theresa R. Wardon, Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell LLP, Denver, CO; Manuel D. Vargas, Immigrant Defense Project, New York, NY; Richard D. Willstatter, NACDL and NYSACDL, White Plains, NY.
