Practice Areas

• Accessory After the Fact
• Arson
• Assault & Battery
• Battery on a Peace Officer
• Assault with a Firearm
• Battery
• Assault with a Deadly Weapon
• Bail Review & Reduction
• Carrying a Concealed Weapon
• Child Endangerment
• Conspiracy
• Criminal Threats
• Domestic Violence
• Driving with A Suspended License
• Drug Possession
• Marijuana Possession for Sales
• Drug Possession for Personal Use
• Drug Possession for Sale
• DUI Defense
• I've been arrested for DUI. What happens to my Driver's License?
• DUI Under 21
• The 'Rising Blood Alcohol' Defense
• Attacking the Breath Test
• The "No Driving" Defense
• I've been arrested & cited for DUI? What happens next?
• Attacking the Blood Test
• Elder Abuse
• Embezzlement
• Expungements
• Hit and Run
• Housing Violations
• Juvenile Defense
• License Defense
• Nursing License Defense
• Murder
• Police Misconduct Litigation
• Pre-Filing Investigations
• Professional & Vocational License Defense
• Prostitution
• Public Intoxication
• Sex Crimes
• Indecent Exposure
• Solicitation of Prostitution
• Rape
• Theft Charges
• Robbery
• Purse Snatching
• Burglary
• Petty Theft
• Embezzlement
• Identity Theft
• Three Strikes Law
• Vacating Convictions
• Vandalism
• Vehicular Manslaughter
• Warrant Recall
• Weapons Charges
• Witness Intimidation

Post-Conviction Remedies: Our Torrance Criminal Defense Lawyers Can Challenge Conviction for Deportable Offenses

Changes in immigration law have substantially raised the stakes of a non-citizen’s criminal conviction.

Where once there was only a narrow class of offenses that triggered deportation, and judges had wider discretionary power to prevent deportation (such as the now-extinct "judicial recommendation against deportation" or "JRAD"), reforms in immigration law have broadened the types of crimes that are considered deportable.

Further, these changes in the law have undercut judges' authority to alleviate the harsh consequences of deportation. Because the drastic measure of deportation or removal is now virtually inevitable for a vast number of noncitizens convicted of crimes, the importance of accurate legal advice for noncitizens accused of crimes has never been more important!

As a matter of federal law, deportation is an integral part of the penalty that may be imposed on noncitizen defendants who plead guilty to specified crimes.

In what is now considered a seminal case in this area, Padilla v. Kentucky (a 2010 case), the petitioner, Padilla, a lawful permanent resident of the United States for over 40 years, was facing deportation after he pleaded guilty to drug-distribution charges in Kentucky.

In postconviction proceedings, Padilla claimed that his attorney not only failed to advise him of this consequence before he entered the plea, but that he also told him not to worry about deportation because he had lived in this country for such a long period of time.  Padilla claimed that he would have gone to trial had he not received this erroneous advice. The court said that the weight of prevailing norms in the legal profession supports the view that attorneys must advise their clients about the risk of deportation associated with a deportable criminal offense (that is, pleading guilty or no contest to such an offense, being convicted of that offense). 

Further, the Padilla court recognized that there are many situations where deportation consequences of a plea are not clear (and, in those cases, a criminal defense attorney need do no more than advise a noncitizen client that pending criminal charges may carry adverse immigration consequences).  HOWEVER, when the deportation consequence is truly clear, the attorney has a duty to give his client correct advice.

If you suffered a conviction and are now facing possible deportation resulting from faulty legal advice about the immigration consequences of the conviction, we want to help you.  Let us put our combined 50+ years' experience, credentials and knowledge to work for YOU!

Unlike many other law firms, McGregor & Ernenwein has an experienced former immigration attorney on staff.  Lorgio Coimbra is a former Immigration Lawyer who successfully represented clients in Immigration Court prior to joining our Torrance criminal defense law firm. He is fully fluent in Spanish.  Using his lengthy background as the motions and appeals writer for the former law firm at which he was associated, Mr. Coimbra has written Motions Error Coram Nobis (i.e., which is a Motion to Vacate a Conviction) for McGregor & Ernenwein. He uses his vast immigration experience to guide his noncitizen clients through the criminal process and help them avoid a conviction that would trigger deportation or  any adverse immigration consequence.

Our founders, Robert Ernenwein and Bruce McGregor are former prosecutors. Robert is a Board Certified Criminal Law Specialist who has appeared numerous times on Fox News to render his professional opinion on high profile celebrity crime cases.  Bruce McGregor is AV-Rated by Martindale-Hubbell. We use these great credentials in service of our clients, by putting our best effort to have their convictions reversed and, therefore, help them avoid deportation.

motion vacate conviction lawyer torrance
vacate guilty plea torrance lawyer
vacate guilty plea los angeles lawyer
vacate guilty plea southern california lawyer

vacate conviction redondo beach lawyer
criminal defense lawyer los angeles vacate guilty plea
immigration consequences lawyer los angeles

Case Results for Vacating Convictions:

• Guilty Plea Vacated - Successful Motion Error Coram Nobis

Awarded: Court Vacates Guilty Plea

Videos about Deportable Offenses: Vacating Your Guilty Plea to Avoid Deportation:

• Robo (Petty Theft/Shoplifting) y la Amenaza de Deportación: Abogado en Torrance Explica la Ley