Legal Question in Criminal Law in Washington

Re: changing lawyers

If you want to change court-appointed lawyers, you must make the request to the judge presiding over your case, either at a hearing or by letter. If your attorney is a member of a public defender agency or firm, contact that office and speak with a supervisor about getting a different attorney.

Another option is to hire an attorney for a second opinion (as opposed to full representation). This might be particularly helpful if your dissatisfaction relates to your current attorney's analysis of your case and advice with respect to resolving the case.

What constitutes "bad counsel" is not easily defined. It is an issue that is raised frequently on appeal. The following explanation is a slightly edited appellate court opinion.

The inquiry involves a two- prong test. First, one must show that his counsel's representation was deficient in that it 'fell below an objective standard of reasonableness.' To demonstrate deficient performance, you must show that your attorney 'made errors so serious that counsel was not functioning as the 'counsel' guaranteed the defendant by the Sixth Amendment.' Trial strategy and selection of witnesses are decisions for the attorney.

Second, you must show that the attorney's deficient performance prejudiced your defense. To demonstrate prejudice, you must show that the attorney's errors were so serious that 'there is a reasonable probability that, but for counsel's errors, the result of the trial would have been different.' Courts indulge in a strong presumption that counsel's representation was effective.