Joseph Michael Serra v. Michigan Department of Corrections, Raymond G. Toombs

I agree with Section IV of the Court’s opinion which holds that the prosecutor’s statement concerning the prior marijuana conviction did not deprive the petitioner of a federal constitutional right. I agree with the District Court and strongly disagree with our Court on the right-to-counsel issue discussed in Section III. On this issue the Court simply allows the prosecution through its objections to control who the lawyer for the accused will be at his trial.

Normally where multiple defendants represented by one lawyer fully understand and consent to a potential conflict of interest, they may…