People v. Espinoza

14 Cal.5th 311

522 P.3d 1074

303 Cal.Rptr.3d 670

The PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent,

v.Juventino ESPINOZA, Defendant and Appellant.

S269647

Supreme Court of California.

January 26, 2023

Sanger Swysen & Dunkle, Stephen K. Dunkle, Santa Barbara, and Sarah S. Sanger for Defendant and Appellant.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Kahn A. Scolnick, Daniel R. Adler, Los Angeles, Emily R. Sauer, Patrick J. Fuster and Matt Aidan Getz for Alyssa Bell, Reuven Cohen, Ingrid V. Eagly, Gilbert Garcetti, Meline Mkrtichian, Ronald J. Nessim, Gabriel Pardo and Jennifer Resnik as Amici Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Appellant.

Stanford Law School Immigrants' Rights Clinic, Jayashri Srikantiah and Yulie Landan for Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Asian Law Caucus, Alameda County Public Defender's Office, American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Southern California, American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice, Centro Legal de la Raza, Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto, Dolores Street Community Services, Dreamer Fund, Immigrant Alliance for Justice and Equity, Immigrant Legal Defense, Jewish Family & Community Services East Bay, National Immigration Project of the National Lawyers Guild, Open Immigration Legal Services, Organization for the Legal Advancement of Raza, Public Counsel, San Francisco Office of the Public Defender, San Joaquin College of Law New American Legal Clinic, Santa Barbara County Immigrant Legal Defense Center, Silicon Valley De-Bug, Stand Together Contra Costa, Tahirih Justice Center, University of California Davis Immigration Law Clinic, University of California Irvine Criminal Justice Clinic and University of California Irvine Immigrant Rights Clinic as Amici Curiae on behalf of Defendant and Appellant.

Xavier Becerra and Rob Bonta, Attorneys General, Michael J. Mongan, State Solicitor General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Michael P. Farrell, Assistant Attorney General, Samuel P. Siegel, Deputy State Solicitor General, Darren K. Indermill, David Andrew Eldredge and Kari Ricci Mueller, Deputy Attorneys General, and Kimberly M. Castle, Associate Deputy State Solicitor General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

Opinion of the Court by Liu, J.

Penal Code section 1473.7 allows noncitizens who have served their sentences to vacate a conviction if they can establish by a preponderance of the evidence that their conviction is "legally invalid due to prejudicial error damaging [their] ability to meaningfully understand, defend against, or knowingly accept the actual or potential adverse immigration consequences of a conviction or sentence." ( Pen. Code, § 1473.7, subd. (a)(1) ; id. , subd. (e)(1); all undesignated statutory references are to this code.) To establish prejudicial error, a defendant must demonstrate a "reasonable probability that the defendant would have rejected the plea if the defendant had correctly understood its actual or potential immigration consequences" ( People v. Vivar (2021) 11 Cal.5th 510, 529, 278 Cal.Rptr.3d 2, 485 P.3d 425 ( Vivar )) and must corroborate any assertions with " ‘ "objective evidence" ’ " ( id. at p. 530, 278 Cal.Rptr.3d 2, 485 P.3d 425 ). We note that a motion to vacate a conviction, in contrast to a direct appellate challenge to the plea itself, is generally filed, as here, after "the individual filing the motion is no longer in criminal custody." ( § 1473.7, subd. (b)(1).)

Defendant Juventino Espinoza accepted a plea bargain in 2004 and served one year in jail. He argues that he first learned that the plea put him at risk of losing his permanent resident status and being deported in 2015, when he was detained by federal immigration authorities at the airport after a return flight to the United States. He then sought to vacate his conviction three separate times. He asserts counsel never informed him of the immigration consequences of his plea and that he would not have accepted the terms of the plea bargain if he had been so informed. In support of his third motion, before us now, Espinoza attached a declaration describing his biographical history, which includes more than 20 years living in the United States prior to conviction; a declaration from an immigration attorney explaining that Espinoza's convictions place him in danger of losing his permanent residence, being deported, and being barred from reentering the United States, and that there were immigration-safe alternatives his counsel could have pursued; and 30 letters from family, friends, community members, clients, and employers documenting his family ties, community connections, and work history. The trial court denied his motion, as it had his previous two. The Court of Appeal affirmed, concluding that Espinoza had not adequately corroborated his claim that immigration consequences were a paramount concern at the time of his plea.

We granted review to consider what constitutes a sufficient showing of prejudicial error within the meaning of section 1473.7. We limited the issue before us to the following: "Did the Court of Appeal err in ruling that defendant failed to adequately corroborate his claim that immigration consequences were a paramount concern and thus that he could not demonstrate prejudice within the meaning of Penal Code section 1473.7 ?" We hold that Espinoza has made the requisite showing and accordingly reverse the judgment of the Court of Appeal.

I .

Espinoza migrated from Mexico to Northern California in 1981, when he was 13 years old. After arriving in Oroville, he earned wages as a farmworker to support his parents and siblings. In 1986, when Espinoza turned 18, he became a lawful permanent resident. When Espinoza was 22 years old, he married Sandra Rose. The couple had six children together. Espinoza's wife and children are United States citizens and have resided in California for their entire lives. Espinoza's elderly parents, eight siblings, grandchildren, and sons-in-law also live in the United States and are either United States citizens or lawful permanent residents. Espinoza has now lived in the United States for over four decades.

Espinoza and his wife created a family and a home together in California. The couple bought a home in Cutler, where they raised their children. Their first-born child, Juventino Espinoza, Jr., graduated from Sierra Nevada College with a bachelor's degree in psychology and has plans to join the army to serve as a behavioral therapist for struggling soldiers. Their eldest daughter, Marisol Espinoza, graduated from Milan Institute in Fresno as a beautician. Their second daughter attended La Sierra Military Academy. One of their sons, Juan Carlos Espinoza, died a few months after birth.

Espinoza is the primary caregiver to his parents, who suffer from Parkinson's disease and diabetes. Espinoza's parents live with him in Cutler and rely on him for assistance with their daily activities, including cooking, shopping, doing laundry, administering medication, and driving to medical appointments.

Espinoza is the main financial provider for his family. After several years as a farmworker, Espinoza relocated with his wife in 1991 to the Central Valley, where he worked for Schellenberg Farms in Reedley as a farm manager. Beginning in 1994, Espinoza worked for eight years as a supervisor at Abe-El Produce in Orosi before starting his own business.

In 2003, Espinoza and several others were arrested following an investigation into suspected methamphetamine manufacturing. During the proceedings, it was undisputed that Espinoza had no prior criminal history. Eventually, Espinoza pleaded no contest to conspiracy (§ 182, subd. (a)(1)), felony child abuse (§ 273a, subd. (a)), controlling property to manufacture a controlled substance ( Health & Saf. Code, § 11366.5, subd. (a) ), and possession of a controlled substance (id. , § 11350, subd. (a)).

At the time, Espinoza did not speak English; his attorney used a Spanish-speaking assistant to communicate with him before his plea. The assistant told Espinoza to plead no contest and "everything was going to be fine." Espinoza never discussed the immigration consequences of the plea with his attorney, who did not advise him that pleading to these charges would put him in danger of losing his permanent resident status, being deported, and being barred from reentering the United States. It appears he relied on the reassurance of his attorney's assistant that, if he pleaded no contest, "everything was going to be fine."

When Espinoza's plea was taken, the court provided him with the following advisement, pursuant to section 1016.5: "If you are not a citizen, you are hereby advised that conviction of the offense for which you have been charged may have the consequences of deportation, exclusion from admission to the United States, or denial of naturalization pursuant to the laws of the United States." Espinoza explained in his declaration: "I took the warning to be a general one that the court had to give everyone who pleads guilty. I did not understand it to have applied to me as a legal permanent resident who was in the United States legally, my attorney at the time did not mention to me that my plea would have immigration consequences." It appears the court made no further inquiry into Espinoza's understanding or offer to answer any questions he might have had. He asserts that if he had known, he would not have accepted the plea and would instead have taken the case to trial or agreed to a longer sentence in exchange for an immigration-safe plea.

Following Espinoza's plea, he was placed on five years of probation and ordered to serve 365 days in jail. According to Espinoza, he was not informed by his attorney that his plea agreement included jail time. Nevertheless, he served the jail term called for by the plea bargain. Upon release, Espinoza returned to being the family's main financial provider. He started his own lawn services and gardening business. He...