David Kluft

#LegalEthics Tidbit: If defense counsel tells the court it has a conflict of interest but refuses to say what the conflict is, is that ineffective assistance?

Two CO lawyers were appointed to represent a defendant charged with hiring gang members to murder a witness. Three months before trial, defense counsel filed a motion to withdraw, asserting a non-waivable and irreconcilable conflict of interest with their client. They requested an ex parte... (cont).

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/davidkluft_people-v-hagos-ugcPost-7421292044565770242-9HIs?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop&rcm=ACoAAAN_UBcBPBM_ohh5PF4QzCD5EXWYFgCyHwQ
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Mar 25 at 12:55pmWeb
Show threadDavid KluftMar 25
... parte hearing before the judge, but at that hearing they refused to tell the judge what the conflict was. The judge denied the motion and the defendant was convicted. He later filed a motion for a new trial, alleging among other things that counsel generally was “checked out,” and in particular ineffective for having a conflict of interest and not disclosing it. The trial court denied the motion, reasoning that there was no evidence of any prejudice or deficient ... (cont.)
Show threadDavid KluftMar 25
... performance resulting from the conflict. The Court of Appeals reversed: If as alleged the defendant “does not know the nature of the nonwaivable conflict, he cannot be faulted for not further linking actions or inactions of [counsel] to that conflict.” Remanded for a determination of the nature of the conflict, whether it caused prejudice, and whether the defendant knew what it was and waived it.