Camacho

*1000 Appellant John Garofy Camacho (defendant) appeals from the denial of his motion pursuant to Penal Code section 1473.7, 1 to vacate his conviction of possession of marijuana for sale, on the ground that prejudicial errors were made which damaged defendant's ability to understand or defend against the adverse immigration consequences of his nolo contendere plea. During the pendency of this appeal, the Legislature amended section 1473.7. The parties filed supplemental briefs to address the clarified statute. We conclude that the evidence supported defendant's motion. We thus reverse with directions to the trial court to grant the motion to vacate defendant's conviction.

BACKGROUND

In 2009 defendant was charged with violating Health and Safety Code section 11359, possession of marijuana for purposes of sale. He pled no *1001 contest to the charge under the terms of a plea agreement which provided for three years felony probation and community service. At the request of defense counsel, the court stated that if defendant returned in 18 months with a clear record, the court would "definitely consider" granting a motion pursuant to section 1203.4, to expunge the conviction.

In…