December 05, 2014

Consequences of Criminal Charges / Convictions

If you are facing criminal or serious traffic charges and are not a citizen of the United States, you face the double-edged sword of criminal punishment and possible removal from this country. A skilled attorney can assist you in your efforts not only to avoid a negative criminal disposition altogether, but to protect you against the harsh immigration consequences which may follow a criminal conviction. You must be aware that, in many instances, these immigration consequences may be far more severe than the criminal penalty itself. You must also consider that even a probation before judgment or suspended sentence may not protect you from deportation. Further, failure to timely pursue legal remedies such as an appeal, post-conviction petition and coram nobis relief may result in a waiver of your right to challenge any conviction after the fact, and thus harm or negate your defense to removal or inadmissibility into the U.S. MLG attorneys D. Scott Messersmith and Jude Wikramanayake have substantial experience in these areas of the law. They, along with MLG immigration attorney Victoria Dinkin, can assist you in addressing these frightening situations.

Mr. Messersmith recently represented a client who was facing removal due to a past criminal conviction for theft. Mr. Messersmith filed a Petition for Writ of Error Coram Nobis in the Maryland trial court in which the conviction was entered and successfully argued that the conviction was obtained in violation of the United States Constitution. This resulted in the conviction being vacated, which led in turn to a favorable immigration outcome. In two other recent cases, Mr. Messersmith argued on behalf of his clients and was able to persuade the trial court on various grounds in each case to modify and reduce the original criminal sentence handed down. One of the effects of these modifications was to permit the clients to avoid deportation.*

Please do not delay in seeking legal representation if you are not a U.S. citizen and you are charged with a crime. Call 301-588-8100 for a free consulation.
*Past performance is not a guarantee of future success.