Bill > SB281

This bill amends Section 1016.5 of the Penal Code to clarify and strengthen immigration advisement requirements for criminal defendants. Specifically, the bill requires courts to provide a verbatim advisement to defendants before accepting a guilty or no contest plea, explicitly stating that if the defendant is not a U.S. citizen, their conviction may result in deportation, exclusion from the United States, or denial of naturalization. The bill maintains existing provisions that allow defendants to request additional time to consider the plea and potentially withdraw their plea if they were not properly advised of potential immigration consequences. Importantly, for pleas accepted before January 1, 2026, the bill specifies that a court's failure to provide the exact verbatim advisement does not automatically require vacating the judgment or invalidating the conviction. The legislation aims to promote fairness for non-citizen defendants by ensuring they understand the potential immigration implications of their criminal plea, while also providing some flexibility for courts in handling cases where the advisement may not have been perfectly executed.

Justice

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB281