Yanick Kazadi v. the People of the State of Colorado — Bender, J., Dissenting

Summary

The dissent would have held that a defendant who pleads guilty and receives a deferred judgment may use the postconviction procedure to challenge the constitutional validity of the plea. It reasoned that the governing statute guarantees postconviction review to every person convicted of a crime, that a guilty plea constitutes a conviction for this purpose, and that limiting review would undermine the constitutional protection against ineffective assistance during plea negotiations. The dissent further concluded that Kazadi's allegations warranted an evidentiary hearing because the record did not clearly establish that he understood the mandatory deportation consequences of his plea.