United States v. Anna Erna Lawriw

WEBSTER, Circuit Judge.

Once again we are called upon to review a post-conviction claim that a defendant in a criminal trial, jointly represented with a codefendant by a single attorney, was denied effective assistance of counsel. Consistent with our earlier decisions in which we have identified the pitfalls of this practice, we announce today an affirmative duty of inquiry by the district court. Such an inquiry was conducted by the District Court 1 in the case now before us on appeal, and we are satisfied that it accomplished the purposes to be served by such inquiry and that appellant did,…