In People v. Chavez, the Supreme Court today holds that “a noncitizen caught in the crosshairs of immigration laws” (possibly a Dreamer; the petition for review states he was brought to the U.S. when he was a month old) who is seeking dismissal of convictions so as “to avoid collateral immigration consequences” could not get relief under one Penal Code section because he had already successfully completed his probation. But the court suggests that another statute, which became effective last year, might provide an adequate remedy. However, the parties didn’t brief the new law, so the court’s unanimous opinion by Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar “express[es] no view” on the law’s scope.
The court affirms the Third District Court of Appeal, but under a different rationale than the appellate court used.
