The People v. Washington

Defendant Frank Washington was found guilty of unlawful possession of narcotic drugs by a jury in the circuit court of Cook County and sentenced to a term of five to ten years imprisonment. The appellate court unanimously affirmed the defendant’s conviction (81 Ill. App. 2d 90), and adhered to its original decision after granting a rehearing. (81 Ill. App. 2d 103.) We granted leave to appeal to consider defendant’s contentions (1) that his constitutional rights were violated when, on the day set for trial, the judge denied defendant’s request for time to obtain different counsel; (2) that the…