加州最高法院周四推翻了Angela Hernandez的毒品罪认罪判决，裁定她在认罪时未能充分理解该判决可能导致的移民后果[1]。法院指出，仅仅在确认表格上勾选框不足以满足法律要求——被告必须"有意义地理解"认罪协议的法律后果[1]。
Hernandez是墨西哥公民，在美国作为合法永久居民生活了19年，于2013年因两项毒品犯罪认罪，当时她55岁[1]。她服刑27天后获得缓刑部门许可，两年后前往墨西哥旅行[1]。当她试图通过洛杉矶国际机场合法重新进入美国时，被拘留并面临遣返程序[1]。
法院的多数意见认为，Hernandez寻求并获得离开美国的许可、前往墨西哥旅行以及试图通过入境口岸合法重新进入的一系列行为，足以表明她未曾"有意义地理解"其定罪的移民后果[1]。加州最高法院已指示将案件发回下级法院重新审理并撤销其定罪[1]。
The California Supreme Court on Thursday reversed Angela Hernandez's drug conviction, ruling that she had not meaningfully understood the immigration consequences of her guilty plea despite having signed a confirmation form [1]. Hernandez, a Mexican citizen who had lived in the United States as a lawful permanent resident for 19 years, pleaded guilty in 2013 to two drug crimes when she was 55 years old [1]. After serving 27 days of a 180-day sentence, she obtained permission from the probation department two years later to travel to Mexico [1]. Upon attempting to return through Los Angeles International Airport, she was detained and faced deportation proceedings [1].
Justice Joshua Groban, writing for the majority, emphasized that checking boxes on a form is insufficient to satisfy legal requirements [1]. The court found that "her decisions to seek and obtain permission to leave the United States, to travel to Mexico, and to attempt to lawfully re-enter through a port of entry support the inference that she did not 'meaningfully understand' the immigration consequences of her conviction" [1]. The court determined that a defendant must possess genuine comprehension of the legal ramifications tied to a guilty plea, not merely acknowledge them procedurally [1]. The court instructed the Fifth Appellate District to remand the case to the trial court and vacate her conviction [1].