Resendiz

BACKGROUND

Resendiz was a lawful permanent resident when he pled guilty to narcotics offenses in the Orange County Superior Court on June 30, 1997. In re Resendiz, 25 Cal. 4th 230, 235 (2001). Resendiz claims that before entering his plea, he expressed concern to his attorney, Leonard Basinger, about losing his green card as a result of the offense. Basinger inac- curately informed Resendiz that the guilty plea would not adversely affect his immigration status. The state court judge informed Resendiz and five other defendants that their con- victions could result in deportation, but Resendiz nevertheless took Basinger’s erroneous advice and pled guilty. See id. at 235-37.

As a result of his plea, the state trial court sentenced Resendiz to 180 days imprisonment and three years probation, with credit for time served. In addition, California Health and Safety Code section 11590 required Resendiz to register as a narcotics offender for a period of five years subsequent to the completion of his three year probation term.

While Resendiz was serving his state sentence, the INS served him with a Notice to Appear, which declared that he was a removable alien due to his conviction for a…