People v. Ortega

In 1996 defendants were charged by indictment with delivery of 999.38 grams of cocaine in violation of section 401 of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act (720 ILCS 570/401 (West 2000)). In 1999, prior to trial, the State successfully moved to disqualify defendants’ counsel, attorney Robert Novelle, on conflict of interest grounds. Defendants petitioned for leave to appeal the disqualification order pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 306(a)(7) (166 Ill. 2d R. 306(a)(7)). The appellate court dismissed the petition, and defendants petitioned for leave to appeal to this court. We denied the…