United States v. Richard Brown

OPINION

BERZON, Circuit Judge:

United States v. Rivera-Corona, 618 F.3d 976 (9th Cir.2010), held that an indigent criminal defendant need not establish a conflict with his attorney amounting to the constructive denial of counsel as a prerequisite to substituting appointed counsel for his retained attorney. The district court in this case, like the parties, appears to have been unaware of Rivera-Corona, and instead applied the conflict requirement applicable to substitutions of appointed counsel for appointed counsel. We now reiterate Riverar-Corona’s intertwined rules: (1) A defendant enjoys a…