CAIR Coalition Virginia Justice Program receives grant from the Virginia Law Foundation
CAIR Coalition has been awarded a $50,000 grant by the Virginia Law Foundation to support the work of the Virginia Justice Program. Through the Virginia Justice Program, CAIR Coalition provides legal resources, training and case consultations concerning the immigration consequences of criminal offenses to public defenders and court-appointed counsel throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia. The grant from the Virginia Law Foundation allows CAIR Coalition to expand its efforts to assist Virginia’s indigent defense bar, increasing the likelihood that Virginia’s immigrant community will have access to attorneys who are knowledgeable about the intersection of immigration and criminal law.
CAIR Coalition is very pleased to be partnering with the Virginia Law Foundation and to be part of the Foundation’s long-standing commitment to expanding access to justice for those most in need.
CAIR Coalition launched the Virginia Justice Program in response to the widespread shortfall in resources available to assist indigent immigrants accused of crimes in Virginia. Immigrants have no right to government-funded counsel in immigration court and, therefore, it is often the case that the only attorney an indigent immigrant will have at any point is a public defender in criminal court. The United States Supreme Court in Padilla v. Kentucky (2010) and the Virginia Supreme Court in Zemene v. Clark (2015) have both held that defense attorneys have an obligation to accurately advise their clients about the immigration consequences of criminal charges. Those rulings are vitally important due to the high likelihood that an immigrant with a criminal conviction will face severe and often disproportionate consequences even for minor offenses that do not involve jail time. Without educated defense attorneys who advise clients consistent with Padilla and Zemene, immigrants accused of crimes who cannot afford an attorney are at a serious disadvantage in the justice system.
To resolve this justice gap, CAIR Coalition’s Virginia Justice Program, with the support of the Virginia Indigent Defense Commission, provides legal analytical materials and training to public defenders and court-appointed counsel throughout Virginia. CAIR Coalition also provides free case consultations to help defense attorneys understand the federal immigration law principles that are relevant to state criminal proceedings. In the next year, CAIR Coalition hopes to expand its efforts by creating innovate online resources that can be easily distributed throughout Virginia, including to each of the state’s twenty-six public defender offices.
The Virginia Justice Program’s online resources are posted here. Any questions concerning the program can be directed to Senior Attorney, Morgan Macdonald.
