California v. Perez
Annotate this CaseIn August 2005, Modesto Perez pled guilty to possession of methamphetamine for sale. Over six months later, Perez was deported to Mexico based on his conviction. On January 1, 2017, Penal Code section 1473.7 became effective, allowing a person no longer imprisoned or restrained to move to vacate a conviction or sentence for one of two reasons, including that "[t]he conviction or sentence is legally invalid due to a prejudicial error damaging the moving party's ability to meaningfully understand, defend against, or knowingly accept the actual or potential adverse immigration consequences of a plea of guilty or nolo contendere." Perez subsequently filed a motion to vacate his conviction under section 1473.7. The superior court denied Perez's motion. Perez appealed, contending the court erred in denying his motion. The People argued the statute did not apply retroactively and, even if it did, Perez's motion was untimely and the record showed he had sufficient knowledge of the immigration consequences of his plea. The Court of Appeal determined section 1473.7 did apply to Perez, however, Perez did not show he was entitled to relief under that statute. As such, the Court affirmed the order.
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