People v. Hernandez, 1 N.E.3d 785

Defendant, a lawful permanent resident from the Dominican Republic, pleaded guilty to sexual abuse in the first degree in full satisfaction of an indictment after a suppression hearing.
Following sentencing, federal authorities sought to deport him based on the conviction, and a removal order was issued.
Defendant moved to vacate the plea under CPL 440.10, claiming ineffective assistance of the prior counsel for not informing him of deportation consequences.
The trial court denied the motion, finding highly compelling reasons to plead guilty and questioning credibility of defendant’s innocence and family ties.
Appellate Division affirmed, with opinions split on whether prejudice from counsel’s alleged deficiencies was shown under Strickland and Padilla precedents.
This Court unanimously affirmed the order, applying Strickland and Padilla to assess prejudice in the plea context.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Padilla affects prejudice standard in plea ineffective assistance	Hernandez argues Padilla requires a different prejudice standard.	Hernandez contends prejudice shown if deportation consequences were certain and ignored by counsel.	No new prejudice standard; reasonable probability standard remains.
Whether defendant showed prejudice from counsel’s failure to warn about deportation	Hernandez claims he would have gone to trial if warned.	People contend the record supports that he would still plead given other factors.	Record supports no reasonable probability of trial if warned.
Whether the record supports the Appellate Division’s factual credibility findings	Hernandez disputes that the hearing credibly established lack of prejudice.	People rely on lower court findings of credibility.	Prejudice not shown; findings supported.

Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (U.S. 2010) (duty to inform on deportation, prejudice framework retained in Strickland)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (establishes performance and prejudice prongs)
Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52 (U.S. 1985) (plea-era prejudice standard in terms of reasonable probability)
Roe v. Flores-Ortega, 528 U.S. 470 (U.S. 2000) (prejudice standard in plea context)
McDonald, 1 N.Y.3d 109 (N.Y. 2003) (confirms Strickland prejudice standard in New York)
Pilla v. United States, 668 F.3d 368 (6th Cir. 2012) (comparative precedents on prejudice in plea)
Akinsade, 686 F.3d 248 (4th Cir. 2012) (prejudice assessment in deportation context)
Missouri v. Frye, 132 S. Ct. 1399 (2012) (prejudice framework in plea negotiations)
Lafler v. Cooper, 132 S. Ct. 1376 (2012) (prejudice framework in plea negotiations)