State v. Jimenez

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

ALBIN, J.

In this capital case, we must decide whether to disqualify one of the two public defenders representing defendant because of her previous one-day representation of a client who was questioned during the investigation but found to have no connection with the murder. We conclude that the facts do not present a reasonable basis to deny defendant counsel of his choice based on a conflict of interest or an appearance of impropriety.

I

On May 20, 2001, ten-year-old Walter Contreras attended a local carnival and did not return home. In the early…