The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to review a Colorado case that questioned how clearly attorneys must communicate the immigration consequences of a guilty plea to their clients, an issue which Attorney General Phil Weiser had argued the justices need not decide.

On Feb. 22, the Court announced without comment that it would not hear an appeal from Alfredo Juarez, a Mexican national and lawful permanent resident who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drug charge in 2012. Juarez learned from attorneys that generally, convictions for misdemeanor drug possession had the same effect as a felony, and he would “probably” be deported.

A trial court judge sentenced Juarez to probation, but following a violation of his conditions, the federal government deported Juarez.

The Colorado Supreme Court decided last year that Juarez’s attorney went to “substantial lengths” to give him correct information. Lawyers are already obligated to give accurate advice to their noncitizen clients when the deportation consequences are clear, pursuant to a 2010 U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

However, Juarez appealed the ruling, asking the justices to clarify whether defense attorneys must convey to their clients when they will face automatic deportation, not simply probable deportation.

Weiser, in urging the Court to turn down the appeal, wrote in December that the advice Juarez received “meaningfully conveyed the risk of deportation.” Weiser also pointed out that Juarez’s guilty plea was already designed to make him less vulnerable to deportation than going to trial.

He had faced a felony charge of cocaine possession and was allowed to plead guilty to the misdemeanor while agreeing to go through a strict addiction treatment regimen.

“What is more, while both a guilty plea and a conviction after trial would make petitioner deportable, by pleading guilty he avoided jail, decreasing the risk that ICE would or could place an immigration hold on him,” the attorney general explained, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “As the trial court found, it was petitioner’s repeated probation violations that led to his incarceration and ultimate deportation.”

The case is Juarez v. Colorado.