State v. KAWA

The question presented in this appeal is whether an actual and serious conflict of interest is presented in a criminal proceeding when the prosecution offers a favorable plea agreement to one codefendant, conditioned on testimony against another codefendant who is represented by the same attorney. Because there is a conflict of interest in this case requiring disqualification of defense counsel, we affirm the disqualification order entered by the district court.

BACKGROUND

The appellants, Thomas J. Kawa and Sean A. Flanagan, were each charged by information with two counts of conspiracy to…