9th Circuit Reversal of Murder Conviction Prompts Colorful Dissent

Ninth Circuit Judge Carlos Bea submitted a 40-page dissent countering what he called a "misguided" reversal of a murder conviction. The majority found the defendant should have been appointed a new lawyer after a series of conflicts with public defenders. Bea wrote that by allowing the defendant's distrust of his appointed attorneys to require a change of counsel, "the majority sets forth a rudderless, subjective rule for finding an 'irreconcilable conflict' between a criminal defendant and his counsel."

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