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Conflict of interest criminal case?
Anonymous11 views5 answers
What can be done if a public defender has represented two plaintiffs in a criminal case? My nephew is awaiting trial for homicide charges. His public defender was asked at the beginning if he represented either plaintiff in the case. He denied each time when asked (multiple times), but now one week prior to the start of trial he admitted that he has represented both of them. He did this after getting angry with the defendant's mother because she accused him of not doing his job. He now refuses to speak to her and has barely spoken to my nephew. In fact, he didn't even recognize him at one of his pretrial proceedings. The defendant is a veteran who suffers from PTSD and paranoia and is afraid to speak to his attorney's. He has asked to have his attorney removed.
I think you are referring to government witnesses when you say "plaintiffs." In a criminal case, the state or federal government is the plaintiff. If the defense attorney has previously represented persons who are witnesses, that would present a conflict, as it would almost certainly put the attorney in the position of having to cross-examine these witnesses using confidential information obtained during the course of the previous representations. Your nephew should get a new attorney if this is indeed the situation.
The witnesses are not considered "plaintiff's" as this is not a civil case, rather they are state witnesses. Regardless, this appears to be a conflict. This should be brought to the attention of the Judge. There should be conflict counsel for this exact purpose.
Michael L. Doyle
(215) 900-5565
I think there's something more here than meets the eye. Bring it to the Court's attention. To go forward with a trial could be grounds for a new trial. No party wants that.
