(a) (1) The Legislature finds and declares that the statement in Section 1000.4, that “successful completion of a deferred entry of judgment program shall not, without the defendant’s consent, be used in any way that could result in the denial of any employment, benefit, license, or certificate” constitutes misinformation about the actual consequences of making a plea in the case of some defendants, including all noncitizen defendants, because the disposition of the case may cause adverse consequences, including adverse immigration consequences.
(2) Accordingly, the Legislature finds and declares that based on this misinformation and the potential harm, the defendant’s prior plea is invalid.
(b) For the above-specified reason, in any case in which a defendant was granted deferred entry of judgment on or after January 1, 1997, has performed satisfactorily during the period in which deferred entry of judgment was granted, and for whom the criminal charge or charges were dismissed pursuant to Section 1000.3, the court shall, upon request of the defendant, permit the defendant to withdraw the plea of guilty or nolo contendere and enter a plea of not guilty, and the court shall dismiss the complaint or information against the defendant. If court records showing the case resolution are no longer available, the defendant’s declaration, under penalty of perjury, that the charges were dismissed after he or she completed the requirements for deferred entry of judgment, shall be presumed to be true if the defendant has submitted a copy of his or her state summary criminal history information maintained by the Department of Justice that either shows that the defendant successfully completed the deferred entry of judgment program or that the record is incomplete in that it does not show a final disposition. For purposes of this section, a final disposition means that the state summary criminal history information shows either a dismissal after completion of the program or a sentence after termination of the program.
(Added by Stats. 2015, Ch. 646, Sec. 1. (AB 1352) Effective January 1, 2016.)