Post-Conviction Relief for Immigrants

When a defendant pleads guilty despite the fact that the Government’s own allegations demonstrate that the defendant is innocent of the crime of conviction (or any equal or greater crime), coram nobis is available to vacate the mistaken plea.[505]  In Tucor Int’l, the defendant company was accused by the Government of fixing prices and other criminal antitrust violations in its business of transporting household goods for United States service personnel within the Philippines.  As part of a negotiated deal, Tucor Int’l pled guilty and paid a fine.  Subsequently, however, it discovered that a separate federal statute (the “Shipping Act”) exempts “any activity concerning the foreign inland segment of through transportation . . . .”[506]  The company sought coram nobis relief, which was granted by the district court and upheld by the Ninth Circuit, because, according to the Government’s allegations, the company had handled only the “foreign inland segment” of transportation and thus was factually innocent of the crime of conviction.[507]

[505] United States v. Tucor Int’l, Inc., 189 F.3d at 836, 838 & n.1 (9th Cir. 1999).

[506] Id. at 835.

[507] Id. at 837-38.  See also Jackson v. Calderon, 211 F.3d 1148 (9th Cir. 2000) (actual innocence is a permissible basis for post-conviction relief, where petitioner can go beyond demonstrating doubt about his guilt and can affirmatively prove that he is probably innocent).