When an individual faces deportation as a result of a criminal conviction in New Jersey, he has hope of avoiding that deportation if he successfully challenges that conviction on post-conviction relief. Luckily, at the present time, recent case-law has made these challenges much more defendant friendly than in the past.
I successfully argued and won my motion for PCR in Hudson County last week. This was a rather clear-cut case, that was on its face grantable, due to the contents of the transcript. The state is always going to put up a good fight, due to the fact that their has been an increase in PCR applications since the decision Padilla.
As a result of my arguments, the judge vacated the conviction. This means that ICE or DHS will not be able to proceed on the NTA because there is no conviction to rely upon.
The next step for the defendant is to negotiate a new plea that will not result in deportation or to go to trial on the original charges. The former of the two choices is probably more desirable, but it always depends
Essex County NJ Criminal Attorney Blog 