State of New Jersey v. Patrick D. Thomas, A-0580-23

Patrick D. Thomas pleaded guilty in 2017 to fourth-degree criminal sexual contact involving his 19-year-old niece in New Jersey, receiving a probationary sentence with no additional custody.
In January 2023, Thomas filed a petition for post-conviction relief (PCR) seeking to withdraw his guilty plea, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel.
Thomas argued his attorney failed to advise him about the possibility of applying to the Pretrial Intervention Program (PTI) and about the severe immigration consequences of his plea.
The PCR court, presided over by Judge Guadagno, denied Thomas's PCR petition and request for an evidentiary hearing, concluding he failed to meet the Strickland-Fritz test for ineffective assistance of counsel and the Slater standard for manifest injustice.
Thomas appealed, challenging the denial of PCR, the refusal to allow plea withdrawal, and the decision to not hold an evidentiary hearing.
The appellate court affirmed the PCR court, finding Thomas had been adequately advised regarding immigration consequences and had not shown he would have been admitted to PTI or prejudiced by any alleged deficiencies.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Ineffective assistance for PTI advice	Thomas was informed about legal options	Counsel didn’t advise him about PTI, which might avoid immigration	No deficiency or prejudice; no basis for PCR
Ineffective assistance for immigration consequences	Counsel provided appropriate advisement	Was not told of severe immigration consequences	Guilty plea colloquy/plea form show he was properly advised
Plea withdrawal due to manifest injustice	Plea was knowing and voluntary	Plea was not knowing/voluntary due to immigration impact	No manifest injustice; no basis for plea withdrawal
Evidentiary hearing on PCR claims	No prima facie claim for hearing	Court abused discretion in denying a hearing on ineffective counsel	No abuse of discretion; evidentiary hearing properly denied

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (establishes the standard for ineffective assistance of counsel)
State v. Fritz, 105 N.J. 42 (N.J. 1987) (adopts the Strickland standard in New Jersey)
State v. Slater, 198 N.J. 145 (N.J. 2009) (sets the criteria to withdraw a guilty plea based on manifest injustice)
State v. Savage, 120 N.J. 594 (N.J. 1990) (applies the Strickland test to New Jersey ineffective assistance claims)
State v. Watkins, 193 N.J. 507 (N.J. 2008) (discusses PTI program criteria)
State v. Cummings, 321 N.J. Super. 154 (App. Div. 1999) (bald assertions insufficient for ineffective assistance hearing)