People v. Mejia

In People v. Mejia (2019) the California Appellate Court held that to establish prejudicial error under Penal Code section 1473.7, a defendant need only prove by a preponderance of the evidence: “(1) [he] did not ‘meaningfully understand’ or ‘knowingly accept’ the actual or potential adverse immigration consequences of the plea; and (2) had [he] understood the consequences, it is reasonably probably [he] would have instead attempted to ‘defend against’ the charges.” The prejudicial errors include Mr. Mejia’s own misunderstanding of the long-term immigration consequences of his plea as well as the absence of specific immigration advice from his own attorney and the trial court regarding how this conviction would affect his long-term prospect of becoming a United States citizen.