People v. Manley, 167 A.D.3d 1161

In July 2014 Manley, a noncitizen who had overstayed his legal right to be in the U.S., was charged with two counts each of criminal sale and criminal possession of a controlled substance in the third degree.
After plea negotiations Manley pleaded guilty to one count of criminal possession in the third degree, waived appeal, and was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment plus two years’ postrelease supervision.
Deportation/removal proceedings were later commenced against Manley. He moved pro se under CPL 440.10 to vacate his conviction, claiming his plea was involuntary because counsel misadvised him about deportation consequences.
At the CPL 440.10 hearing Manley and his wife testified counsel told them that accepting the plea was the “best” or “only” option because trial would not avoid deportation; counsel testified he advised deportation was “more than likely” but did not recall saying acquittal would not avoid deportation and explained immigration proceedings would be different if not convicted.
County Court credited counsel’s testimony, found counsel complied with Padilla, concluded Manley’s plea was voluntary, and denied the CPL 440.10 motion. The Appellate Division affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Manley’s guilty plea was involuntary due to ineffective assistance of counsel concerning deportation advice	Manley argued counsel misinformed him that deportation was inevitable even if acquitted, so he would not have pled but for that advice	Counsel said he warned deportation was likely but did not say acquittal would not avoid removal and explained immigration consequences differed if there was no conviction	Court deferred to credibility findings, held counsel satisfied Padilla and plea was voluntary; motion denied
Whether ineffective-assistance claim survived Manley’s appeal waiver	Manley asserted the claim survives because it implicates voluntariness of plea	People argued general appeal waiver but voluntariness claims survive	Court held voluntariness/ineffective-assistance claims survive waiver and were preserved by pro se postallocution motion

Hill v. Lockhart, 474 U.S. 52 (1985) (plea-context Strickland standard: must show reasonable probability that, but for counsel’s errors, he would not have pleaded guilty)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (establishes two-prong ineffective assistance test)
Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (2010) (counsel must advise noncitizen of clear immigration consequences of a plea)
People v. Hernandez, 22 N.Y.3d 972 (2013) (New York recognition of federal plea ineffective-assistance standards)
People v. Abraham, 165 A.D.3d 1318 (3d Dept. 2018) (appeal waiver does not bar claim that plea was involuntary)
People v. Watson, 152 A.D.3d 1059 (3d Dept. 2017) (deference to trial court credibility findings)