Aguilar

Edgardo R. Aguilar, a lawful resident alien, was convicted of a felony involving illegal possession of a firearm, after pleading nolo contendere in 2005. He completed his sentence of one day in custody and a three-year term of probation. He is now facing removal from the United States by federal immigration authorities, allegedly because of his firearm conviction. In order to remove the cause for his threatened deportation, Aguilar filed a motion to vacate his judgment of conviction and withdraw his plea, based on claimed ineffective assistance of counsel in failing to properly advise him on the immigration consequences of his plea, and failure to obtain a result that would not result in his deportation.

In People v. Villa (2009) 45 Cal.4th 1063 [ 90 Cal.Rptr.3d 344 , 202 P.3d 427 ], the Supreme Court held that a defendant who is in federal custody but is no longer in state custody as a result of his earlier conviction is ineligible for relief by way of a writ of habeas corpus. In a companion case, People v. Kim (2009) 45 Cal.4th 1078 [ 90 Cal.Rptr.3d 355 , 202 P.3d 436 ], the court held that the defendants in that situation are not entitled to have their convictions and…