This is a monumental ruling from a ‘state’ court.
For decades, SCOTUS has held that there’s no right to a jury trial under the Sixth Amendment for “petty offenses.”
Today, the N.Y. Court of Appeals holds that that’s not true if the offense has deportation consequences:
I’ve long thought that the “petty offenses” exception to a jury trial was ludicrous. ALL crimes are guaranteed to be a jury trial under the constitution - and that provision either applies to the states or it doesn’t (don’t get me started on that). But now illegal immigrants appear to be afforded more rights than citizens. Possibly even more ludicrous.