State v. Smith

HECHT, Justice.

The State moved to disqualify defendant’s privately-retained counsel of choice on the ground that counsel faced an “actual conflict of interest.” Despite the defendant’s express waiver of the conflict, and notwithstanding the availability of co-counsel to handle all matters related to the State’s witness whose involvement in the case was the subject of the claimed conflict, the district court ordered counsel to withdraw. We stayed further proceedings in the district court and granted interlocutory discretionary review of the order disqualifying the defendant’s counsel. We now…