In criminal law, collateral consequences are those consequences of a criminal conviction that do not directly relate to the punishment of the offense. For instance, a direct consequence is prison; a collateral consequence is suspension of the right to vote.
In general, criminal defense lawyers are not obligated to tell their clients of all the collateral consequences of pleading guilty. But recently, the United States Supreme Court has determined that deportation of non-citzens is such a severe consequence that it merits notice before a guilty plea. Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. __ (March 31, 2010).
The problem with requiring defense attorneys to tell their clients about all the collateral consequences of a criminal conviction is that there are sooooo many consequences. But thanks to the American Bar Association...help is on the way. According to an article in the "Criminal Justice Section Newsletter," Vol. 18, Issue 3, Spring 2010, the ABA is conducting a nationwide comprehensive collateral consequences of criminal convictions survey. Once the project is complete, any lawyer in any state will be able to type in the charged offense and receive a list of all the collateral consequences. The lawyer can simply hit "print" and hand the list to their client. Brilliant!
Adrienne Dunn is a Criminal Defense Lawyer in Dallas, for more information, please visit http://www.dunncriminallaw.com/
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