United States v. Walter Scot Boigegrain

TACHA, Circuit Judge.

This appeal invites us to resolve two constitutional questions regarding the relationship between an attorney and a potentially incompetent client in a criminal case. First, we must determine whether a client who may be incompetent to stand trial has a constitutional right to waive his counsel before a hearing on his competency. The second issue presented is whether counsel who moves for an evaluation of the defendant’s competency against the defendant’s wishes thereby render-s ineffective assistance of counsel. Exercising jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we…