People v. Delgado CA2/6

DISCUSSION

Section 1473.7, subdivision (a)(1) authorizes a person no longer in criminal custody to file a motion to vacate a conviction or sentence that is “legally invalid due to prejudicial error damaging [their] ability to meaningfully understand, defend against, or knowingly accept the actual or potential adverse immigration consequences of a conviction or sentence.” “A successful section 1473.7 motion requires a showing, by a preponderance of the evidence, of a prejudicial error that affected the defendant’s ability to meaningfully understand the actual or potential immigration consequences of a plea.” (People v. Vivar (2021) 11 Cal.5th 510, 517.) “‘[P]rejudic[i]al error . . . means demonstrating a reasonable probability that the defendant would have rejected the plea if the defendant had correctly understood its actual or potential immigration consequences.’” (People v. Espinoza (2023) 14 Cal.5th 311, 319 (Espinoza).) To assess prejudicial error, “courts must ‘consider the totality of the circumstances.’ [Citation.] ‘Factors particularly relevant to this inquiry include the defendant’s ties to the United States, the importance the defendant placed on avoiding deportation,…