Supreme Court hears oral argument on possible retroactive impact of Padilla v. Kentucky

After a two-day delay because of storm Sandy, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Chaidez v. United States, which raises the issue of the retroactive application of Padilla v. Kentucky (2010) in which the Court held that a Sixth Amendment ineffective assistance of counsel claim could be based on a defense counsel’s failure to inform his client of the possible immigration consequences of a plea agreement.  Kevin Johnson, a well known professor and scholar in the area of immigration law has posted a brief comment on the oral argument here.