By Jason Chan

The Supreme Court’s decision in Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (2010), established that a defendant in a criminal case has a constitutional right to be informed of the immigration consequences of a guilty plea. If the defendant’s attorney fails to inform the defendant of such consequences, the defendant may have grounds to move to have the plea vacated.

The Padilla decision was a narrow ruling that left many issues unresolved. It was the state courts, facing a growing number of applications...

By Jason Chan

The Tsarnzev brothers wreaked havoc in back bay Boston, carjacked a car in Cambridge, then finally are arrested in Watertown.  The Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been charged with using a weapon of Mass Destruction.  Many people have questioned why Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has not been charged with any other crimes. The public is being told that the investigation is ongoing.  At some point the case will be brought in front of a grand jury.  The grand jury process is the mechanism the US...

By Jason Chan

Bostonians hopping into taxis to get from place to place have far larger concerns than getting there on time, according to an exclusive report the Boston Globe released this month. The great majority of cabs in the city, owned in large part by Boston Cab, is woefully underinsured and routinely leaves accident victims to their own devices in their medical bills.

Reforms Currently On Standby

The Globe reports that efforts to reform the current legal framework have mostly fallen to the wayside,...