Law, College of
Date of this Version
8-2023
Document Type
Article
Citation
Ruser, Kevin. 2023. The Nebraska Criminal Law Practitioner's Guide to Representing Non-Citizens in State Court Proceedings, 2023 Edition. Lincoln, Nebraska, 2023.
Abstract
PREFACE TO THE 2023 EDITION I promised myself, after the long-overdue revisions reflected in the 2021 edition, that I would do my best to update this Guide every year. This is the second installment on that pledge. Although there have been modest changes these past two years, there are still important updates incorporated into this year’s edition. I have also expanded on some of the topics that appeared in the 2021-2022 editions, as my thinking – and caselaw – continue to evolve.
On March 31, 2010, the lives of criminal law practitioners changed dramatically. On that day, the United States Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in the case of Padilla v. Kentucky,1 holding that criminal defendants have a Sixth Amendment right to be advised by their lawyers of the potential immigration consequences of guilty pleas they are contemplating. It is my hope that this Guide will be of assistance to criminal defense attorneys, prosecutors, and judges as they negotiate the mine field that lies at the intersection of criminal and immigration law. The scope of this Guide is limited to potential immigration consequences of Nebraska state criminal proceedings. And even with that limitation, this Guide is far from comprehensive in its treatment of Nebraska state criminal law. The goals of this Guide are to give Nebraska criminal law practitioners and judges an overview of the federal immigration system, acquaint them with immigration issues that may arise as the result of state criminal proceedings, and analyze various Nebraska criminal statutes in terms of their potential immigration consequences.
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Copyright © 2023 Kevin Ruser