The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has denied a criminal defendant’s arguments that her defense attorney had a conflict of interest from who paid him to represent her.

The Monday opinion in United States v. Palacios explained that defendant Gloria Ann Palacios pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. She argued that her attorney, Dallas criminal defense solo practitioner Mark Fernandez, gave ineffective assistance of counsel because of an alleged conflict of interest.