JAIME FONTALVO, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 3d DCA | 2009-11-25
No. 3D09-1228
Before SHEPHERD and SUAREZ, JJ„ and SCHWARTZ, Senior Judge.
22 So. 3d 829 Florida District Court of Appeal, Third District (2009) Positive Treatment
Cited by 1 case

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Synopsis

A legal permanent resident challenged the denial of his Rule 3.850 motion to withdraw his guilty plea based on inadequate explanation of deportation consequences. The appellate court reversed, holding that legal permanent residents are subject to deportation and thus qualify for relief under State v. Green.


Holding

Legal permanent residents are subject to deportation and thus qualify for relief under State v. Green. The trial court's conclusion that Fontalvo was ineligible because he could not be deported was incorrect.


Headnotes

[1] A legal permanent resident may be subject to deportation.

[2] A defendant seeking to withdraw a plea based on inadequate explanation of deportation consequences must demonstrate they are subject to deportation.

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Key Quotes

“Because Bugarin is a permanent resident alien, he will be subject to deportation upon his release from prison and may be ineligible for benefits such as early release, certain prison programs, or assignment to a minimum-security prison during his incarceration.”

Establishes that legal permanent residents face deportation consequences

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Facts & Procedural History

Jaime Fontalvo, a legal permanent resident, entered a guilty plea. The trial court denied his Rule 3.850 motion to withdraw the plea on the ground tha…

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Opinion of the Court
SCHWARTZ, Senior Judge.

SCHWARTZ, Senior Judge.

The defendant’s Rule 3.850 motion to withdraw his plea on the ground that its deportation consequences had not been adequately explained was denied after an evidentiary hearing, on the ground, citing Kindelan v. State, 826 So.2d 1004 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001), that as a legal permanent resident he was not subject to deportation and thus was unqualified for relief under State v. Green, 944 So.2d 208 (Fla.2006). While understandable in view of the confusing statement in Kindelan, 826 So.2d at 1005, n. 1, that “[i]t is undisputed that a resident alien who is not given permanent resident status is ‘excludable’ from this country by the INS,” this conclusion is incorrect. See United States v. Bugarin, 312 Fed.Appx. 147, 149 (10th Cir.2009) (“Because Bugarin is a permanent resident alien, he will be subject to deportation upon his release from prison and may be ineligible for benefits such as early release, certain prison programs, or assignment to a minimum-security prison during his incarceration.”); see also Immigration & Naturalization Serv. v. St. Cyr, 533 U.S. 289, 293, 121 S.Ct. 2271, 150 L.Ed.2d 347 (2001) (St. Cyr, a lawful permanent resident (LPR) pled guilty to an aggravated felony, thus making him subject to deportation.); Discipio v. Ashcroft, 417 F.3d 448, 449 (5th Cir.2005) (“Petitioner Ferdinando Discipio, a permanent resident of the United States, became subject to deportation under the Immigration and Nationality Act after a Massachusetts court convicted him of possession with intent to distribute Perco-cet.”).

Because the court therefore erroneously did not reach the merits of the defendant’s showing under Green, we reverse the order below for such a determination.1

Reversed and remanded.


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