The U.S. Supreme Court this morning went back into the area of criminal defense lawyers giving bad advice on the immigration consequences of a conviction, a can of worms it opened in its 2010 decision of Padilla v. Kentucky.  Today's case is Lee v. United States, No. 16-327.

Jae Lee was a legal permanent resident who was caught dealing ecstasy.  When offered a plea deal, he asked his retained attorney about immigration consequences and was assured he would not be deported.  "According to Lee, the lawyer assured him that if deportation was not in the plea agreement, 'the government cannot deport you.' "  Wow.  What an idiot, if that was really the basis of his advice.  Dealing drugs is an "aggravated felony" under immigration law.  As such it results in mandatory deportation, and no, Bozo, it doesn't have to be in the plea agreement.

The two prongs of an ineffective assistance claim are deficient performance and resulting prejudice.  Here we have deficient performance in spades.  How about prejudice?  Is a defendant prejudiced by a plea deal when the prosecution has a slam-dunk case for guilt that almost certainly would have resulted in a higher sentence plus deportation anyway?  The majority, per C.J. Roberts, says yes.  Justice Thomas, joined by Justice Alito, dissents.  Justice Gorsuch did not participate.