Judge Judy H. Kim

Julien moved to vacate his 1998 guilty plea to criminal possession of a controlled substance arguing he did not receive effective assistance of counsel as his attorney failed to advise him of immigration consequences of the plea, as required by Padilla v. Kentucky. The court noted meaningful representation did not mean “perfect representation,” finding Julien's motion was based only on his allegations the attorney did not advise him of possible negative immigration consequences of his guilty plea. Yet, the court stated Julien failed to substantiate his claim with specific factual allegations in an affidavit or corroborating affidavits warranting dismissal. The court concluded that even if Julien presented facts to substantiate his allegations the attorney failed to advise him of possible negative immigration consequences, dismissal without a hearing would still be warranted as at the time of the plea the applicable state and federal law provided that an attorney's failure to advise of possible deportation did not, alone, constitute ineffective assistance of counsel. Also, Padilla and People v. Peque could not be applied retroactively to cases such as this which became final before 2010. Thus, Julien's motion under CPL 440.10 was denied without a hearing.