Criminal Law: Witness – Attorney – Conflict of Interest

Where a defendant charged as a felon in possession of a firearm was initially represented by an assistant public defender and then hired private counsel who later announced a plan to call a witness who would testify the gun was his and the district court requested that the public defender’s office have an attorney on standby to advise the witness, the district court did not clearly err when it failed to recognize and remedy the fact that appointed assistant public defender was the same lawyer who initially represented the defendant.

Judgment is affirmed.

United States v. Green (MLW No. 64444/Case No. 12-1442 – 6 pages) (U.S. Court of Appeals, 8th Circuit, Riley, J.) Appealed from U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Missouri, Perry, J. (Andrea L. Smith, Kirkwood, for appellant) (Michael A. Bert, St. Louis, for respondent).

Read the full text of this opinion. (PDF)