Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Arizona
Judge removes defendant's counsel
If a Judge removes an Attorney who was paid for by the Defendant, due to a Motion filed by the Prosecution claiming Conflict of Interest, what is the remedy for the Defendant?
Who will pay for a substitute or replacement attorney? The State or should the Judge order the attorney who had the conflict of interest to pay for a new attorney of the Defendant's choice?
Should the case be dismissed with prejudice because the conflict has already caused unrepairable damage to the Defendant's case?
It's a criminal case which could result in life in prison if found guilt, but there is zero evidence of any crime; only statements.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Judge removes defendant's counsel
If your attorney has a conflict of interest, then he cannot represent you in this case. That is not the government's fault, so the government has no obligation to help you deal with the problem. If you can afford a private attorney, you need to hire one. If you can't, the government will hire one for you -- but that is true in all criminal cases and has nothing to do with the prior conflict of interest.
You may be entitled to a refund from the conflicted attorney, but whether you are or not will depend upon the language of your retainer agreement and upon the specific facts of the case. If, for example, you withheld information from him which would have allowed him to discover the conflict sooner, you may not be entitled to recover whatever money you have already paid.
You are certainly not entitled to a dismissal with prejudice because of this conflict. It is hard to imagine how your case has been irreparably damaged by these events and, even if it has, it is even harder to imagine how the government could be responsible for that damage. If you reasonably need more time due to the need to hire a new lawyer, the court should give you that time. There may be similar remedies available for other types of problems this development may have caused. Dismissing the case against you would be an extraordinary remedy and only extraordinary circumstances would justify it. I see no such circumstances here.
You say that there is no evidence against you, but you also say that there are "statements" of some kind. Presumably this means there are witnesses who can testify about facts which implicate you in the crime. Testimony is a form of evidence, even though most laypeople do not recognize this fact. If the statements were your own, they will likely come in even if you don't testify about them.
You need to get a new lawyer right away. There is no technicality which is going to just let you walk away from a charge as serious as this one.
Good luck.
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