Landaverde

*290 We affirm the denial of appellant's motion to vacate his 1998 plea of guilty to committing a lewd act with a child under the age of 14 in violation of Penal Code section 288, subdivision (a). 1 This motion, which was brought pursuant to the procedural mechanism set forth in section 1473.7, was based on the substantive allegation that appellant's Sixth Amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel was violated by his trial counsel's supposed failure to research and advise him of the immigration consequences of that plea. 2

We conclude that (1) section 1473.7 provided a procedural vehicle through which appellant could litigate the validity of his plea; (2) appellant's counsel's failure to advise him of the immigration consequences of his plea did not constitute deficient professional performance under the then-contemporary standard; and, (3) appellant has failed to demonstrate that he suffered any legally cognizable prejudice from the alleged deficient professional performance.

BACKGROUND

According to the federal immigration court, appellant entered the United States in 1989. In July 1998, appellant pled guilty to one count of committing a lewd act with a minor ( §…