The California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, has issued a decision granting a motion to vacate a jury verdict under Penal Code section 1473.7. In this case, the defendant was initially represented by a public defender, who determined that there was no reasonable alternative plea to offer the prosecution that would insulate him from immigration consequences. He later hired a private attorney to represent him at trial. After the public defender ruled out any alternate plea, but before the jury convicted him, a change in appellate case law rendered an alternate plea less damaging from an immigration perspective. His private attorney, however, did not advise him of that change in case law. Accordingly, he did not proceed to trial in a properly informed manner.
The full text of People v. Avena can be found here: http://sos.metnews.com/sos.cgi?0326//E083900