The California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, has determined that a mixed standard of review applies to appeal of 1473.7 motions. The appellate court will uphold the trial court's factual findings if they are supported by substantial evidence and will exercise independent judgment on the legal issues. The court further determined that in August 2000, there was no obligation for defense counsel to specifically advise a defendant that a plea would result in exclusion from admission or denial of naturalization or to negotiate an immigration-neutral plea.
The court confined the decision in People v. Soriano to stand for the proposition that an attorney cannot give incorrect advice when asked about immigration consequences, but did not to create an independent duty to research and advise about immigration consequences.
The court also distinguished the duty to negotiate alternative pleas in People v. Bautista. “Gonzalez has presented no evidence that a more immigration favorable disposition was available in his case. Nor did he offer an expert opinion that Guerrero's representation of him fell below an objective standard of reasonableness at the time Gonzalez pled guilty. “
The decision in People v. Gonzalez can be found here: