Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same,
as follows:
SECTION 1.
Chapter 278 of the General Laws is hereby amended by
striking out
section 29D, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, and inserting in place
thereof the following section:-
Section 29D. The court shall not accept a plea of guilty, a plea of nolo
contendere, or an admission to sufficient facts from any defendant in any
criminal proceeding unless the court advises such defendant of the
following: "If you are not a citizen of the United States, you are hereby
advised that the acceptance by this court of your plea of guilty, plea of nolo
contendere, or admission to sufficient facts may have consequences of
deportation, exclusion from admission to the United States, or denial of
naturalization, pursuant to the laws of the United States." The court shall
advise such defendant during every plea colloquy at which the defendant is
proffering a plea of guilty, a plea of nolo contendere, or an admission to
sufficient facts. The defendant shall not be required at the time of the plea
to disclose to the court his legal status in the United States.
If the court fails so to advise the defendant, and he later at any time shows
that his plea and conviction may have or has had one of the enumerated
consequences, even if the defendant has already been deported from the United
States, the court, on the defendant's motion, shall vacate the judgment, and
permit the defendant to withdraw the plea of guilty, plea of nolo contendere,
or admission of sufficient facts, and enter a plea of not guilty. Absent an
official record or a contemporaneously written record kept in the court file
that the court provided the advisement as prescribed in this section, including
but not limited to a docket sheet that accurately reflects that the warning was
given as required by this section, the defendant shall be presumed not to have
received advisement. An advisement previously or subsequently provided the
defendant during another plea colloquy shall not satisfy the advisement
required by this section, nor shall it be used to presume the defendant
understood the plea of guilty, or admission to sufficient facts he seeks to
vacate would have the consequence of deportation, exclusion from admission to
the United States, or denial of naturalization.
SECTION 2.
Section 1 shall apply to pleas of guilty, pleas of nolo
contendere and admissions to sufficient facts which occur on or after the
effective date of this act. Former section 29D of chapter 278 of the General
Laws shall continue to apply to pleas of guilty, pleas of nolo contendere and
admissions to sufficient facts which occurred before the effective date of this
act.
Approved July 29, 2004.