Willie Lee Hudson v. Ruth L. Rushen, Director of the California Department of Corrections

SNEED, Circuit Judge:

Willie Lee Hudson, a California state prisoner, petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus alleging that the state trial court violated his right to effective assistance of counsel as guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution by failing to inquire adequately into his reasons for moving to substitute counsel. The district court granted the petition. The State of California (“the State”) appealed. We hold that, inasmuch as the state trial court’s inquiry into the petitioner’s dissatisfaction with his counsel, though brief, was sufficient under the…