COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - The Ohio Supreme Court says a judge must reconsider a rejected motion to withdraw guilty pleas by a man facing deportation to his native Honduras.
The court ruled 5-2 Wednesday that a Stark County judge abused her discretion by failing to consider a two-question test in determining whether Carlos Romero could withdraw his June 2016 guilty pleas to drug charges, claiming his attorney provided ineffective counsel.
Attorneys for Romero, a lawful permanent resident, filed the withdrawal motion after immigration officials ordered him to appear for deportation proceedings in July 2016.
An appeals court agreed with Romero’s argument, prompting Ohio’s appeal. The Supreme Court ruled the trial judge must apply the ineffective counsel test before deciding whether Romero’s attorney failed to advise him about his pleas’ consequences.
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