Johnson v. State

SULLIVAN, Justice.

The defendant in this criminal case wrote the judge a few months prior to trial complaining that his public defender, who had a well-documented history of neglecting clients, had been neglecting his case. The judge passed the complaint along to the county public defender’s office, reasoning that she had no authority to take further action. The judge’s failure to inquire further did not violate Johnson’s Sixth Amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel. We hold, however, that a judge faced with similar circumstances must at the very least receive assurances from…