Lary James Plumlee v. Frankie Sue Del Papa John Ignacio

Opinion by Judge B. Fletcher; Dissent by Judge Bea

B. FLETCHER, Circuit Judge.

Defendant-appellant Lary James Plum-lee (“Plumlee”), convicted of murder and armed robbery in Nevada state court in 1992, appeals the denial of his petition for a writ of habeas corpus under 28 U.S.C. § 2254. Plumlee claims that his Sixth Amendment right to counsel was violated by the trial judge’s denial of Plumlee’s pretrial motion to substitute counsel on the basis of an irreconcilable conflict that precluded Plumlee’s counsel from acting in the role of an advocate. At the time he moved the trial court to appoint…