Padilla v. Commonwealth of Kentucky
So, imagine you and your friend get in trouble with the teacher for talking during class. The teacher wants to punish both of you, even though your friend was the one who started the talking.
Now imagine this on a much bigger scale with adults and real-life consequences. That's what happened in Padilla v. Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Mr. Padilla, who lived in Kentucky, was not a U.S. citizen but had been living in the country for a long time. He got in trouble with the law for drug charges and his lawyer never warned him that he could be deported if he was convicted.
Deported means he would have to leave the country and go back to his home country even if he didn't want to. Mr. Padilla said that if he knew he could be deported, he would have tried to make a plea bargain with the prosecutor to reduce the charges or even choose to go to trial to fight the charges.
The problem was, his lawyer didn't know that the deportation was a possible consequence of Mr. Padilla's conviction, so he didn't tell him.
This case went all the way up to the Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the United States, and they decided that Mr. Padilla's lawyer had made a mistake. They said that lawyers have a responsibility to tell their clients about the possible consequences of their decisions, like being deported, when they're charged with a crime.
So, in summary, the case of Padilla v. Commonwealth of Kentucky was about whether a person's lawyer should tell them about the possibility of deportation when they're charged with a crime. The Supreme Court said yes, and lawyers now have to tell their clients about this consequence.
Now imagine this on a much bigger scale with adults and real-life consequences. That's what happened in Padilla v. Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Mr. Padilla, who lived in Kentucky, was not a U.S. citizen but had been living in the country for a long time. He got in trouble with the law for drug charges and his lawyer never warned him that he could be deported if he was convicted.
Deported means he would have to leave the country and go back to his home country even if he didn't want to. Mr. Padilla said that if he knew he could be deported, he would have tried to make a plea bargain with the prosecutor to reduce the charges or even choose to go to trial to fight the charges.
The problem was, his lawyer didn't know that the deportation was a possible consequence of Mr. Padilla's conviction, so he didn't tell him.
This case went all the way up to the Supreme Court, which is the highest court in the United States, and they decided that Mr. Padilla's lawyer had made a mistake. They said that lawyers have a responsibility to tell their clients about the possible consequences of their decisions, like being deported, when they're charged with a crime.
So, in summary, the case of Padilla v. Commonwealth of Kentucky was about whether a person's lawyer should tell them about the possibility of deportation when they're charged with a crime. The Supreme Court said yes, and lawyers now have to tell their clients about this consequence.