State v. Tejeda

STREET, Justice.

A jury convicted Edward Tejeda of willful injury for clobbering a young man in the head with a baseball bat. Prior 'to trial, Tejeda sent the court two letters alleging a breakdown in communication with his attorney. Tejeda claims the district court should have inquired into this potential problem. We agree, and hold trial courts have a duty to inquire into alleged breakdowns in communication between defendants and their attorneys. Because the record before us is inadequate for resolution on direct appeal, however, we preserve for postconviction proceedings the issue of…