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MOTHER’S PETITION FOR GUARDIANSHIP RE: SEEKING SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS FOR HER SON SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED ON THE GROUND PATERNITY HAD NOT BEEN ESTABLISHED (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Family Court, determined mother's guardianship petition should not have been dismissed simply because paternity had not been established. Mother was seeking special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS) for her child:

… [M]other filed a petition … to be appointed the guardian of the subject child for the purpose of obtaining an order, inter alia, so as to enable the child to petition the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services for special immigrant juvenile status (hereinafter SIJS) … . In an order dated April 9, 2018, the Family Court dismissed the petition, without a hearing, on the ground that it failed to state a cause of action because the putative father's paternity had not been established. …

We disagree with the Family Court's determination to dismiss the petition, in which the mother sought to be appointed guardian of her child. A natural parent may be appointed guardian of his or her child (see Family Ct Act § 661[a]…), and the mere fact that paternity has not been established for the putative father does not preclude the mother's guardianship petition … .

Accordingly, since the Family Court dismissed the guardianship petition without conducting a hearing or considering the child's best interests, the matter must be remitted to the Family Court … for an expedited hearing and a new determination thereafter of the guardianship petition … . Matter of Olga L.G.M. (Santos T.F.), 2018 NY Slip Op 06093, Second Dept 9-19-18

FAMILY LAW (MOTHER'S PETITION FOR GUARDIANSHIP RE: SEEKING SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS FOR HER SON SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED ON THE GROUND PATERNITY HAD NOT BEEN ESTABLISHED (SECOND DEPT))/IMMIGRATION LAW (FAMILY LAW, MOTHER'S PETITION FOR GUARDIANSHIP RE: SEEKING SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS FOR HER SON SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED ON THE GROUND PATERNITY HAD NOT BEEN ESTABLISHED (SECOND DEPT))/SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS (FAMILY LAW, (MOTHER'S PETITION FOR GUARDIANSHIP RE: SEEKING SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS FOR HER SON SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED ON THE GROUND PATERNITY HAD NOT BEEN ESTABLISHED (SECOND DEPT))

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SUPREME COURT LACKED TO POWER TO SUPPRESS DEFENDANT’S PRESENTENCE REPORT IN IMMIGRATION PROCEEDINGS (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department determined defendant juvenile offender could not move to suppress his presentence report in subsequent Department of Homeland Security proceedings:

The defendant, an immigrant from Bangladesh, was adjudicated a youthful offender. After completing his sentence, the defendant was detained by the United States Department of Homeland Security (hereinafter the DHS), which, in reliance on the defendant's presentence report, argued that the defendant should be denied a bond due to his youthful offender adjudication. Thereafter, the defendant moved before the Supreme Court in the subject criminal proceeding pursuant to CPLR 3103 for a protective order “enjoining the [DHS's] use” of his presentence report, arguing that it is a confidential record under CPL 720.35(2), which the DHS had improperly obtained. In an order dated June 6, 2017, the Supreme Court denied the defendant's motion. The defendant appeals.

CPLR 3103 ” confers broad discretion upon a court to fashion appropriate remedies' to prevent the abuse of disclosure devices” … . Pursuant to CPLR 3103(c), “[i]f any disclosure under this article has been improperly or irregularly obtained so that a substantial right of a party is prejudiced, the court, on motion, may make an appropriate order, including an order that the information be suppressed” … . Here, since the DHS did not obtain the presentence report in the course of any disclosure process under CPLR Article 31, there is no basis for the issuance of a protective order pursuant to CPLR 3103(c). Moreover, since “[c]ontrol over immigration and naturalization is entrusted exclusively to the Federal Government, and a State has no power to interfere” … , the Supreme Court lacked the power to suppress the presentence report in immigration proceedings. People v Saqline K., 2018 NY Slip Op 06115, Second Dept 9-19-18

CRIMINAL LAW (SUPREME COURT LACKED TO POWER TO SUPPRESS DEFENDANT'S PRESENTENCE REPORT IN IMMIGRATION PROCEEDINGS (SECOND DEPT))/IMMIGRATION LAW (SUPREME COURT LACKED TO POWER TO SUPPRESS DEFENDANT'S PRESENTENCE REPORT IN IMMIGRATION PROCEEDINGS (SECOND DEPT))/EVIDENCE (IMMIGRATION LAW, SUPREME COURT LACKED TO POWER TO SUPPRESS DEFENDANT'S PRESENTENCE REPORT IN IMMIGRATION PROCEEDINGS (SECOND DEPT))CIVIL PROCEDURE (IMMIGRATION LAW, (SUPREME COURT LACKED TO POWER TO SUPPRESS DEFENDANT'S PRESENTENCE REPORT IN IMMIGRATION PROCEEDINGS (SECOND DEPT))PRESENTENCE REPORT (IMMIGRATION LAW, SUPREME COURT LACKED TO POWER TO SUPPRESS DEFENDANT'S PRESENTENCE REPORT IN IMMIGRATION PROCEEDINGS (SECOND DEPT))

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ALTHOUGH SUPREME COURT USED THE WRONG STANDARD OF PROOF, THE FINDING THAT DEFENDANT’S TESTIMONY AT THE HEARING ON HIS MOTION TO VACATE HIS CONVICTION WAS NOT CREDIBLE JUSTIFIED DENIAL OF THE MOTION, DEFENDANT, WHO HAS BEEN DEPORTED, ARGUED HE WOULD NOT HAVE PLED GUILTY BUT FOR HIS ATTORNEY’S ASSURANCE HE WOULD NOT BE SUBJECT TO DEPORTATION (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department determined defendant's motion to vacate his conviction based upon ineffective assistance of counsel was properly denied. Seventeen years ago defendant pled guilty after being informed by his lawyer that he would not be subject to deportation. Although the First Department agreed that Supreme Court used the wrong standard of proof for analyzing ineffective assistance, the First Department held Supreme Court's finding that defendant's testimony at the hearing was not credible was a sufficient basis for denying the motion:

The motion court accepted defendant's “uncontested assertion” in his affirmation that his attorney told him that his guilty plea would not result in negative immigration consequences such as deportation, and found that he had thus established the first of the two necessary prongs for ineffective assistance of counsel set forth in Strickland v Washington (466 US 668, 688 [1984]), that is, that “counsel's representation fell below an objective standard of reasonableness.” * * *

… [T]he second prong of the Strickland test [is] whether “there [was] a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different”  … . …

Defendant's principal argument on appeal is that the hearing court applied the wrong evidentiary standard in applying the Strickland test. He maintains that the only relevant inquiry was whether there was a “reasonable probability” that he would have proceeded to trial had he known that his guilty plea would result in deportation proceedings. … This part of defendant's argument is meritorious … .

… The court made a specific finding that defendant, the only witness, was not credible, a determination that is entitled to “great deference” … . His lack of credibility negates any conclusion that there was a reasonable probability that he would have proceeded to trial but for his attorney's misadvice. People v Pinilla, 2018 NY Slip Op 05960, First Dept 8-30-18

CRIMINAL LAW (ALTHOUGH SUPREME COURT USED THE WRONG STANDARD OF PROOF, THE FINDING THAT DEFENDANT'S TESTIMONY AT THE HEARING ON HIS MOTION TO VACATE HIS CONVICTION WAS NOT CREDIBLE JUSTIFIED DENIAL OF THE MOTION, DEFENDANT, WHO HAS BEEN DEPORTED, ARGUED HE WOULD NOT HAVE PLED GUILTY BUT FOR HIS ATTORNEY'S ASSURANCE HE WOULD NOT BE SUBJECT TO DEPORTATION (FIRST DEPT))/IMMIGRATION LAW (CRIMINAL LAW, ALTHOUGH SUPREME COURT USED THE WRONG STANDARD OF PROOF, THE FINDING THAT DEFENDANT'S TESTIMONY AT THE HEARING ON HIS MOTION TO VACATE HIS CONVICTION WAS NOT CREDIBLE JUSTIFIED DENIAL OF THE MOTION, DEFENDANT, WHO HAS BEEN DEPORTED, ARGUED HE WOULD NOT HAVE PLED GUILTY BUT FOR HIS ATTORNEY'S ASSURANCE HE WOULD NOT BE SUBJECT TO DEPORTATION (FIRST DEPT))/DEPORTATION (CRIMINAL LAW, ALTHOUGH SUPREME COURT USED THE WRONG STANDARD OF PROOF, THE FINDING THAT DEFENDANT'S TESTIMONY AT THE HEARING ON HIS MOTION TO VACATE HIS CONVICTION WAS NOT CREDIBLE JUSTIFIED DENIAL OF THE MOTION, DEFENDANT, WHO HAS BEEN DEPORTED, ARGUED HE WOULD NOT HAVE PLED GUILTY BUT FOR HIS ATTORNEY'S ASSURANCE HE WOULD NOT BE SUBJECT TO DEPORTATION (FIRST DEPT))/ATTORNEYS (CRIMINAL LAW, INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE, ALTHOUGH SUPREME COURT USED THE WRONG STANDARD OF PROOF, THE FINDING THAT DEFENDANT'S TESTIMONY AT THE HEARING ON HIS MOTION TO VACATE HIS CONVICTION WAS NOT CREDIBLE JUSTIFIED DENIAL OF THE MOTION, DEFENDANT, WHO HAS BEEN DEPORTED, ARGUED HE WOULD NOT HAVE PLED GUILTY BUT FOR HIS ATTORNEY'S ASSURANCE HE WOULD NOT BE SUBJECT TO DEPORTATION (FIRST DEPT))/INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE (CRIMINAL LAW, INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE, ALTHOUGH SUPREME COURT USED THE WRONG STANDARD OF PROOF, THE FINDING THAT DEFENDANT'S TESTIMONY AT THE HEARING ON HIS MOTION TO VACATE HIS CONVICTION WAS NOT CREDIBLE JUSTIFIED DENIAL OF THE MOTION, DEFENDANT, WHO HAS BEEN DEPORTED, ARGUED HE WOULD NOT HAVE PLED GUILTY BUT FOR HIS ATTORNEY'S ASSURANCE HE WOULD NOT BE SUBJECT TO DEPORTATION (FIRST DEPT))

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MOTION TO VACATE CONVICTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SUMMARILY GRANTED WITHOUT A HEARING, THREE CRITERIA FOR VACATING A CONVICTION EXPLAINED, HERE DEFENDANT ALLEGED HE WOULD NOT HAVE PLED GUILTY HAD HE BEEN CORRECTLY INFORMED BY COUNSEL OF THE DEPORTATION CONSEQUENCES OF HIS PLEA (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendant’s motion to vacate his conviction should not have been summarily granted and remanded the matter for a hearing. The defendant alleged defense counsel was ineffective for failure to correctly inform him of the deportation consequences of his guilty plea. The First Department offered a detailed explanation of the three criteria for granting a motion to vacate in this context on ineffective assistance of counsel grounds.

CPL 440.30 authorizes the summary granting of a motion to vacate a judgment of conviction where the moving papers allege a ground constituting a legal basis for the motion (CPL 440.30[3][a]); where that ground, if factually based, is supported by sworn allegations of fact essential to support the motion (CPL 440.30[3][b]); and where the sworn allegations of essential fact are either conceded by the People to be true or are conclusively substantiated by unquestionable documentary proof (CPL 440.30[3][c]). If all three of these statutory criteria are not met, the court may not grant a CPL 440.10 motion without first conducting a hearing (CPL 440.30[5]). …

… [T]he People did not concede the essential factual allegations on the issue of prejudice. Indeed, they expressly noted that defendant’s allegations of longstanding ties to the United States and lack of any connection to Haiti were entirely unsubstantiated. Neither did defendant proffer documentary proof conclusively substantiating his sworn factual allegations in support of his claim that “but for [his plea] counsel’s errors, he would not have pleaded guilty and would have insisted on going to trial” … . …Thus, defendant’s CPL 440.10 motion failed to satisfy the third criterion of CPL 440.30(3), and for that reason, the motion court abused its discretion in granting defendant’s CPL 440.10 motion without first conducting a hearing and making findings of fact … . People v Gaston, 2018 NY Slip Op 05122, First Dept 7-10-18

CRIMINAL LAW (MOTION TO VACATE CONVICTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SUMMARILY GRANTED WITHOUT A HEARING, THREE CRITERIA FOR VACATING A CONVICTION EXPLAINED, HERE DEFENDANT ALLEGED HE WOULD NOT HAVE PLED GUILTY HAD HE BEEN CORRECTLY INFORMED OF THE DEPORTATION CONSEQUENCES OF HIS PLEA (FIRST DEPT))/IMMIGRATION LAW (CRIMINAL LAW, MOTION TO VACATE CONVICTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SUMMARILY GRANTED WITHOUT A HEARING, THREE CRITERIA FOR VACATING A CONVICTION EXPLAINED, HERE DEFENDANT ALLEGED HE WOULD NOT HAVE PLED GUILTY HAD HE BEEN CORRECTLY INFORMED OF THE DEPORTATION CONSEQUENCES OF HIS PLEA (FIRST DEPT))/ATTORNEYS (CRIMINAL LAW, (MOTION TO VACATE CONVICTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SUMMARILY GRANTED WITHOUT A HEARING, THREE CRITERIA FOR VACATING A CONVICTION EXPLAINED, HERE DEFENDANT ALLEGED HE WOULD NOT HAVE PLED GUILTY HAD HE BEEN CORRECTLY INFORMED OF THE DEPORTATION CONSEQUENCES OF HIS PLEA (FIRST DEPT))/VACATE CONVICTION, MOTION TO (MOTION TO VACATE CONVICTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SUMMARILY GRANTED WITHOUT A HEARING, THREE CRITERIA FOR VACATING A CONVICTION EXPLAINED, HERE DEFENDANT ALLEGED HE WOULD NOT HAVE PLED GUILTY HAD HE BEEN CORRECTLY INFORMED OF THE DEPORTATION CONSEQUENCES OF HIS PLEA (FIRST DEPT))/DEPORTATION (CRIMINAL LAW, MOTION TO VACATE CONVICTION SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN SUMMARILY GRANTED WITHOUT A HEARING, THREE CRITERIA FOR VACATING A CONVICTION EXPLAINED, HERE DEFENDANT ALLEGED HE WOULD NOT HAVE PLED GUILTY HAD HE BEEN CORRECTLY INFORMED OF THE DEPORTATION CONSEQUENCES OF HIS PLEA (FIRST DEPT))

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FAMILY COURT SHOULD NOT HAVE DENIED THE PETITION RE THE CHILD’S SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS WITHOUT HOLDING A HEARING TO DETERMINE WHETHER REUNITING THE CHILD WITH MOTHER WAS NOT VIABLE DUE TO NEGLECT OR ABANDONMENT (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department ruled that Family Court should have held a hearing to determine whether the child could be reunited with his mother in order to further determine whether to make the findings necessary for the child to apply for special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS):

… [B]ased upon our independent factual review … , we find that the record establishes that the child meets the age and marital status requirements for special immigrant status, and the dependency requirement has been satisfied by the granting of the father’s guardianship petition … . Further, we determine that it would not be in the best interests of the child to be returned to El Salvador, where gang members had threatened to kill him and his sister … . However, the record is insufficient to determine whether reunification with the mother is not viable due to parental neglect or abandonment … .

Accordingly, we reverse the order, and remit the matter to the Family Court, Nassau County, for a hearing on the issue of whether reunification with the mother is not viable due to parental neglect or abandonment, and a new determination thereafter of the father’s motion for the issuance of an order, inter alia, making specific findings so as to enable the child to petition for SIJS … . Matter of A.M.G. v Gladis A.G., 2018 NY Slip Op 04321, Second Dept 6-13-18

​FAMILY LAW (SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS, FAMILY COURT SHOULD NOT HAVE DENIED THE PETITION RE THE CHILD’S SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS WITHOUT HOLDING A HEARING TO DETERMINE WHETHER REUNITING THE CHILD WITH MOTHER WAS NOT VIABLE DUE TO NEGLECT OR ABANDONMENT (SECOND DEPT))/SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS (FAMILY COURT SHOULD NOT HAVE DENIED THE PETITION RE THE CHILD’S SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS WITHOUT HOLDING A HEARING TO DETERMINE WHETHER REUNITING THE CHILD WITH MOTHER WAS NOT VIABLE DUE TO NEGLECT OR ABANDONMENT (SECOND DEPT))/IMMIGRATION LAW (FAMILY LAW, SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS, FAMILY COURT SHOULD NOT HAVE DENIED THE PETITION RE THE CHILD’S SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS WITHOUT HOLDING A HEARING TO DETERMINE WHETHER REUNITING THE CHILD WITH MOTHER WAS NOT VIABLE DUE TO NEGLECT OR ABANDONMENT (SECOND DEPT))

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DEFENDANT WAS ERRONEOUSLY TOLD BY HIS ATTORNEY A CERTIFICATE OF RELIEF FROM CIVIL DISABILITIES WOULD PROTECT DEFENDANT FROM DEPORTATION, MOTION TO VACATE DEFENDANT’S CONVICTION BY GUILTY PLEA SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined defendant’s motion to vacate his conviction by guilty plea should have been granted. Defendant’s attorney erroneously told defendant a certificate of relief from civil liabilities would protect defendant from deportation:

Defendant pleaded guilty to a felony relating to the sale of drugs in return for a promised sentence of five years’ probation with a certificate of relief from civil disabilities. The record establishes that defense counsel advised defendant that even though this type of conviction would be likely to result in deportation, the certificate of relief would protect him from that consequence. Counsel’s advice about the effect of the certificate was clearly erroneous because defendant’s conviction was a deportable offense, from which a certificate of relief provides no shield. The plea and sentencing minutes, including statements made by counsel, corroborate defendant’s claim that he was misadvised about the certificate.

Defendant has demonstrated a reasonable probability that he would not have pleaded guilty and would have gone to trial had he known that the plea would have rendered him deportable despite the certificate… . Statements he made during the plea proceeding and the hearing support his claims that he pled guilty because the plea offer involved no jail time and because he was misled as to the immigration consequences. People v Rosario, 2018 NY Slip Op 04114, First Dept 6-7-18​

CRIMINAL LAW (DEFENDANT WAS ERRONEOUSLY TOLD BY HIS ATTORNEY A CERTIFICATE OF RELIEF FROM CIVIL DISABILITIES WOULD PROTECT DEFENDANT FROM DEPORTATION, MOTION TO VACATE DEFENDANT’S CONVICTION BY GUILTY PLEA SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FIRST DEPT))/ATTORNEYS (CRIMINAL LAW, DEFENDANT WAS ERRONEOUSLY TOLD BY HIS ATTORNEY A CERTIFICATE OF RELIEF FROM CIVIL DISABILITIES WOULD PROTECT DEFENDANT FROM DEPORTATION, MOTION TO VACATE DEFENDANT’S CONVICTION BY GUILTY PLEA SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FIRST DEPT))/INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE (DEFENDANT WAS ERRONEOUSLY TOLD BY HIS ATTORNEY A CERTIFICATE OF RELIEF FROM CIVIL DISABILITIES WOULD PROTECT DEFENDANT FROM DEPORTATION, MOTION TO VACATE DEFENDANT’S CONVICTION BY GUILTY PLEA SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FIRST DEPT))/VACATE CONVICTION, MOTION TO (DEFENDANT WAS ERRONEOUSLY TOLD BY HIS ATTORNEY A CERTIFICATE OF RELIEF FROM CIVIL DISABILITIES WOULD PROTECT DEFENDANT FROM DEPORTATION, MOTION TO VACATE DEFENDANT’S CONVICTION BY GUILTY PLEA SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FIRST DEPT))/GUILT PLEA (VACATE, MOTION TO, DEFENDANT WAS ERRONEOUSLY TOLD BY HIS ATTORNEY A CERTIFICATE OF RELIEF FROM CIVIL DISABILITIES WOULD PROTECT DEFENDANT FROM DEPORTATION, MOTION TO VACATE DEFENDANT’S CONVICTION BY GUILTY PLEA SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FIRST DEPT))/IMMIGRATION LAW (CRIMINAL LAW, DEPORTATION, DEFENDANT WAS ERRONEOUSLY TOLD BY HIS ATTORNEY A CERTIFICATE OF RELIEF FROM CIVIL DISABILITIES WOULD PROTECT DEFENDANT FROM DEPORTATION, MOTION TO VACATE DEFENDANT’S CONVICTION BY GUILTY PLEA SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FIRST DEPT))/DEPORTATION (CRIMINAL LAW, DEFENDANT WAS ERRONEOUSLY TOLD BY HIS ATTORNEY A CERTIFICATE OF RELIEF FROM CIVIL DISABILITIES WOULD PROTECT DEFENDANT FROM DEPORTATION, MOTION TO VACATE DEFENDANT’S CONVICTION BY GUILTY PLEA SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FIRST DEPT))/CERTIFICATE OF RELIEF FROM CIVIL DISABILITIES  (DEFENDANT WAS ERRONEOUSLY TOLD BY HIS ATTORNEY A CERTIFICATE OF RELIEF FROM CIVIL DISABILITIES WOULD PROTECT DEFENDANT FROM DEPORTATION, MOTION TO VACATE DEFENDANT’S CONVICTION BY GUILTY PLEA SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FIRST DEPT))

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FAMILY COURT DIVESTED OF SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION IN THIS GUARDIANSHIP PROCEEDING BECAUSE THE CHILD TURNED 21, MOTION FOR FINDINGS ALLOWING THE CHILD TO APPLY FOR SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS (SIJS) RENDERED ACADEMIC (FIRST DEPT).

The Second Department, dismissing the appeal as academic, determined Family Court was divested of subject matter jurisdiction in this guardianship proceeding because the child had turned 21. Mother had sought appointment as guardian in an effort to procure special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS) for the child:

“Generally, courts are precluded from considering questions which, although once live, have become moot by passage of time or change in circumstances'” … . Where, as here, a child who consented to the appointment of a guardian after his or her 18th birthday turns 21, the term of appointment of the guardian “expires on [the child’s] twenty-first birthday” (SCPA 1707[2]). Consequently, once the child turns 21, the court “is divested of subject matter jurisdiction, [and] cannot exercise such jurisdiction by virtue of an order nunc pro tunc” … . Thus, the guardianship petition cannot be granted at this juncture.

Furthermore, since guardianship status, which the Family Court can only grant to individuals under 21, is a condition precedent to a declaration allowing a child to seek SIJS, the petitioner’s motion for the issuance of an order declaring that the child is dependent on the court and making the requisite specific findings so as to enable him to petition for SIJS has also been rendered academic … . Matter of Vincenta E. V. v Alexander R. G., 2018 NY Slip Op 03849, Second Dept 5-30-18

​FAMILY LAW (FAMILY COURT DIVESTED OF SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION IN THIS GUARDIANSHIP PROCEEDING BECAUSE THE CHILD TURNED 21, MOTION FOR FINDINGS ALLOWING THE CHILD TO APPLY FOR SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS (SIJS) RENDERED ACADEMIC (FIRST DEPT))/IMMIGRATION LAW (FAMILY LAW, FAMILY COURT DIVESTED OF SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION IN THIS GUARDIANSHIP PROCEEDING BECAUSE THE CHILD TURNED 21, MOTION FOR FINDINGS ALLOWING THE CHILD TO APPLY FOR SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS (SIJS) RENDERED ACADEMIC (FIRST DEPT))/CIVIL PROCEDURE (FAMILY LAW, FAMILY COURT DIVESTED OF SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION IN THIS GUARDIANSHIP PROCEEDING BECAUSE THE CHILD TURNED 21, MOTION FOR FINDINGS ALLOWING THE CHILD TO APPLY FOR SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS (SIJS) RENDERED ACADEMIC (FIRST DEPT))/SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS (FAMILY COURT DIVESTED OF SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION IN THIS GUARDIANSHIP PROCEEDING BECAUSE THE CHILD TURNED 21, MOTION FOR FINDINGS ALLOWING THE CHILD TO APPLY FOR SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS (SIJS) RENDERED ACADEMIC (FIRST DEPT))/SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION  (FAMILY COURT DIVESTED OF SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION IN THIS GUARDIANSHIP PROCEEDING BECAUSE THE CHILD TURNED 21, MOTION FOR FINDINGS ALLOWING THE CHILD TO APPLY FOR SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS (SIJS) RENDERED ACADEMIC (FIRST DEPT))/JURISDICTION (FAMILY LAW, FAMILY COURT DIVESTED OF SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION IN THIS GUARDIANSHIP PROCEEDING BECAUSE THE CHILD TURNED 21, MOTION FOR FINDINGS ALLOWING THE CHILD TO APPLY FOR SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS (SIJS) RENDERED ACADEMIC (FIRST DEPT))

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MOTHER’S PETITION SEEKING FINDINGS TO ALLOW HER CHILD TO APPLY FOR SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUES SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED, MOTHER WAS NOT REQUIRED TO BE FINGERPRINTED OR TO SUBMIT CERTAIN DOCUMENTATION, JUDGE’S COMMENTS ABOUT THE CHILD’S SPEAKING SPANISH REQUIRED TRANSFER TO A DIFFERENT JUDGE (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department determined Family Court should not have dismissed mother’s petition to have Family Court make the findings necessary for he child to apply for special Immigrant juvenile status (SIJS) and should not have required mother to be fingerprinted and provide unnecessary documentation. The Second Department further held that the petition must be transferred to a different judge because of the judge’s comments about the child’s speaking Spanish:

Contrary to the Family Court’s determination, in a proceeding such as this pursuant to Family Court Act § 661(a) for “[g]uardianship of the person of a minor or infant,” there is no express statutory fingerprinting requirement … , or any express requirement to submit documentation pertaining to the Office of Children and Family Services … . Further, under the circumstances of this case, the court erred in dismissing the petition and denying the motion for “failure to prosecute” based upon the mother’s failure to submit documentation regarding, inter alia, the child’s enrollment in school … .

Since the Family Court dismissed the guardianship petition and denied the mother’s motion without conducting a hearing or considering the child’s best interests, we remit the matter to the Family Court, Nassau County, for a hearing and a new determination thereafter of the petition and the motion … . In addition, in light of certain remarks made by the Family Court Judge during the course of the proceedings, we deem it appropriate that the matter be heard by a different Judge. The remarks included: that the child “should be speaking English a lot better” after having been in the United States for two years; that the child should “make some friends who speak English”; that if the child only spoke Spanish, “what are you gonna do, you’re gonna be hanging around just where you are”; and that the child “[c]an’t speak English, doesn’t go to school, it’s wonderful. It’s a great country America.” These remarks were inappropriate and cannot be countenanced. Matter of A. v P., 2018 NY Slip Op 03674, Second Dept 5-23-18

​FAMILY LAW (SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS, MOTHER’S PETITION SEEKING FINDINGS TO ALLOW HER CHILD TO APPLY FOR SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUES SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED, MOTHER WAS NOT REQUIRED TO BE FINGERPRINTED OR TO SUBMIT CERTAIN DOCUMENTATION, JUDGE’S COMMENTS ABOUT THE CHILD’S SPEAKING SPANISH REQUIRED TRANSFER TO A DIFFERENT JUDGE (SECOND DEPT))/IMMIGRATION LAW (FAMILY LAW, SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS, MOTHER’S PETITION SEEKING FINDINGS TO ALLOW HER CHILD TO APPLY FOR SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUES SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED, MOTHER WAS NOT REQUIRED TO BE FINGERPRINTED OR TO SUBMIT CERTAIN DOCUMENTATION, JUDGE’S COMMENTS ABOUT THE CHILD’S SPEAKING SPANISH REQUIRED TRANSFER TO A DIFFERENT JUDGE (SECOND DEPT))/SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS (SIJS) (FAMILY LAW, MOTHER’S PETITION SEEKING FINDINGS TO ALLOW HER CHILD TO APPLY FOR SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUES SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED, MOTHER WAS NOT REQUIRED TO BE FINGERPRINTED OR TO SUBMIT CERTAIN DOCUMENTATION, JUDGE’S COMMENTS ABOUT THE CHILD’S SPEAKING SPANISH REQUIRED TRANSFER TO A DIFFERENT JUDGE (SECOND DEPT))/JUDGES (FAMILY LAW, SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS, MOTHER’S PETITION SEEKING FINDINGS TO ALLOW HER CHILD TO APPLY FOR SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUES SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN DISMISSED, MOTHER WAS NOT REQUIRED TO BE FINGERPRINTED OR TO SUBMIT CERTAIN DOCUMENTATION, JUDGE’S COMMENTS ABOUT THE CHILD’S SPEAKING SPANISH REQUIRED TRANSFER TO A DIFFERENT JUDGE (SECOND DEPT))

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DEFENDANT WAS NOT INFORMED OF THE DEPORTATION CONSEQUENCES OF HIS PLEA, HE IS ENTITLED TO A HEARING ON HIS MOTION TO VACATE THE JUDGMENT OF CONVICTION (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department determined defendant was entitled to a hearing on his motion to vacate his conviction based upon ineffective assistance of counsel. Defendant demonstrated his attorney never informed him the plea included an aggravated felony which made deportation mandatory:

A defendant has the right to the effective assistance of counsel before deciding whether to plead guilty … . “Under the federal standard for ineffective assistance of counsel, a defendant must show that his or her attorney’s performance fell below an objective standard of reasonableness, and that there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s unprofessional errors, the result of the proceeding would have been different'” … . “Under the state standard . . . the constitutional requirements for the effective assistance of counsel are met when the defense attorney provides meaningful representation'”… . In cases asserting ineffective assistance of counsel in the plea context, a defendant must show that “there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s errors, he [or she] would not have pleaded guilty and would have insisted on going to trial”… , or “that the outcome of the proceedings would have been different” … .

Here, the defendant sufficiently alleged that defense counsel failed to fully inform him that a plea of guilty exposed him to mandatory removal from the United States and that, had he been so advised, a decision to reject the plea offer would have been rational … . People v Hungria, 2018 NY Slip Op 03545, Second Dept 5-16-18

​CRIMINAL LAW (DEFENDANT WAS NOT INFORMED OF THE DEPORTATION CONSEQUENCES OF HIS PLEA, HE IS ENTITLED TO A HEARING ON HIS MOTION TO VACATE THE JUDGMENT OF CONVICTION (SECOND DEPT))/ATTORNEYS (CRIMINAL LAW, INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE, DEFENDANT WAS NOT INFORMED OF THE DEPORTATION CONSEQUENCES OF HIS PLEA, HE IS ENTITLED TO A HEARING ON HIS MOTION TO VACATE THE JUDGMENT OF CONVICTION (SECOND DEPT))/INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE  (DEFENDANT WAS NOT INFORMED OF THE DEPORTATION CONSEQUENCES OF HIS PLEA, HE IS ENTITLED TO A HEARING ON HIS MOTION TO VACATE THE JUDGMENT OF CONVICTION (SECOND DEPT))/IMMIGRATION LAW (CRIMINAL LAW, DEPORTATION, DEFENDANT WAS NOT INFORMED OF THE DEPORTATION CONSEQUENCES OF HIS PLEA, HE IS ENTITLED TO A HEARING ON HIS MOTION TO VACATE THE JUDGMENT OF CONVICTION (SECOND DEPT))

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FAMILY COURT SHOULD HAVE MADE THE FINDINGS NECESSARY FOR PETITIONER MOTHER TO SEEK SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS (SIJS) FOR HER SON (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Family Court, determined Family Court should have made the findings necessary to allow petitioner-mother to seek special immigrant juvenile status (SIJS) for her son:

Based upon our independent factual review, we find that the record establishes that the child meets the age and marital status requirements for special immigrant status, and the dependency requirement has been satisfied by the granting of the mother’s guardianship petition …  Moreover, the child’s father is deceased and, therefore, reunification is not possible … . We further find that it would not be in the child’s best interests to be returned to Honduras, given the hearing evidence establishing that there is no one there who is able to care for him, and that the child was threatened with violence if he returned. Matter of Denia M. E. C. v Carlos R. M. O., 2018 NY Slip Op 03355, Second Dept 5-9-18

​FAMILY LAW (SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS, FAMILY COURT SHOULD HAVE MADE THE FINDINGS NECESSARY FOR PETITIONER MOTHER TO SEEK SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS (SIJS) FOR HER SON (SECOND DEPT))/SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS (SIJS) (FAMILY COURT SHOULD HAVE MADE THE FINDINGS NECESSARY FOR PETITIONER MOTHER TO SEEK SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS (SIJS) FOR HER SON (SECOND DEPT))/IMMIGRATION LAW (FAMILY LAW, SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS, FAMILY COURT SHOULD HAVE MADE THE FINDINGS NECESSARY FOR PETITIONER MOTHER TO SEEK SPECIAL IMMIGRANT JUVENILE STATUS (SIJS) FOR HER SON (SECOND DEPT))

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