A recent decision by the Georgia Court of Appeals concludes that Padilla’s ineffective assistance of counsel analysis applies to an attorney’s failure to advise a client about sex offender registry requirements. The case is Taylor v. State, 2010 WL 2684051 (Jul. 8, 2010) and can be downloaded here. In essence, the Taylor court held that even if sex offender registration requirements could be considered a “collateral consequence” of a conviction, “the failure to advise a client that his guilty plea will require registration is constitutionally deficient performance,” much like an attorney’s failure to advise a client about the risk of deportation associated with a guilty plea under Padilla. Id. at 4.
Because the appeal was pending while the U.S. Supreme Court decided Padilla, there is no discussion about retroactivity. (Sorry!)
It’s unclear at this point whether the State will seek discretionary review from the Georgia Supreme Court. And any developments on that front will be reported on the blog.
Invisible Man 