Criminal Defense of Immigrants

(C)  Grounds.  Potential grounds of invalidity of criminal convictions is a subject as broad as all of criminal law.  The vast majority of criminal defenders practice in the trial courts, attempting to avoid convictions and sentences in the first place, and may be relatively unfamiliar with grounds of invalidity of criminal convictions and sentences that can be used on appeal and in post-conviction litigation in an effort to set them aside.  The substantive and procedural law governing post-conviction relief in various jurisdictions is the subject of a rich secondary literature. [1]  See Chapter 11, infra, especially § § 11.70 (grounds for vacating convictions), 11.73 (grounds for vacating sentences), infra. For a detailed description, see N. Tooby, Post-Conviction Relief for Immigrants (2004).

[1] See Bibliography, http://www.CriminalAndImmigrationLaw.com.