In Massachusetts a criminal defense attorney must advise his immigrant clients of the “truly clear” adverse immigration consequences of a guilty plea.
This rule was established by the U.S. Supreme Court in Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356, 369 (2010).
According to that ruling,
When the law is not succinct and straightforward…a criminal defense attorney need do no more than advise a noncitizen client that pending criminal charges may carry a risk of adverse immigration consequences. But when the deportation consequence is truly clear…the duty to give correct advice is equally clear.
This ruling was incorporated into Massachusetts case law by the Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) in Commonwealth v. Lys, 481 Mass. 1, 5 (2010).
The pertinent text from that decision states:
Both art. 12 of the Declaration of Rights of the Massachusetts Constitution and the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantee a right to the effective assistance of counsel. To provide effective representation under the Sixth Amendment, counsel must advise his or her clients about a guilty plea’s “truly clear” deportation consequences. (Citations omitted.)
Finally, before tendering a plea in district court, defense counsel must read the following notices to the defendant:
If the defendant is not a citizen of the United States, the acceptance by the Court of a plea of guilty, plea of nolo contendere, or admission to sufficient facts may have consequences of deportation, exclusion from or admission to the United States, or denial of naturalization, pursuant to the laws of the United States.
The judge hearing the plea will read a similar notice to the defendant on record before accepting or rejecting the plea offer.