State v. Belcher

UDALL, Justice.

This is a delayed appeal from appellant’s conviction in 1968 of the crime of robbery. The single issue presented is whether, because of his counsel’s conflict of interest, the appellant was denied effective assistance of counsel, guaranteed by the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution.

Appellant was arrested in 1967 along with three other individuals, Billy Joe Thompson, Clifton Williams and Leslie Hollingsworth. All four were charged with having committed a robbery of a liquor store in Phoenix. The same deputy public defender was appointed to…