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No Padilla Retroactive Effect Scotus Holds

February 25, 2013

Author: Immigration Attorney Alena Shautsova

On February 20, 2013, the United States Supreme Court held that Padilla does not have a retroactive effect and cannot be applied to convictions finalized prior to its decision.

The text of the opinion  in Chaidez v. United States (2013) is availble here.

 According to SCOTUS, Padilla created a new rule and it cannot be applied to those cases there were decided prior to its creation. Justice Sotomayor delivered a dissenting opinion, arguing that no new rule was created by Padilla.