California, United States of America
The following excerpt is from People v. Superior Court (Zamudio), 23 Cal.4th 183, 96 Cal.Rptr.2d 463, 999 P.2d 686 (Cal. 2000):
The language "without the defendant knowing" and "such accused individuals" in subdivision (d) of section 1016.5 permits a conclusion that an individual seeking to vacate a guilty or no contest plea must show a lack of knowledge of one or more of the three immigration or nationality consequences of that plea. "Section 1016.5 recognizes that noncitizens sometimes unknowingly expose themselves to [such] adverse ... consequences by entering pleas." (People v. Murillo (1995) 39 Cal.App.4th 1298, 1305, 46 Cal.Rptr.2d 403.) That is the danger that the statute is designed to protect against, and if a defendant does know of each enumerated consequence, failing to advise him or her of them is harmless error. (See also People v. Castaneda (1995) 37 Cal.App.4th 1612, 1620, 44 Cal.Rptr.2d 666.)
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