Opinion ID: 885231
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 7

Heading: Ineffective Assistance Due to Conflicts of Interest

Text: ¶ 44 Petitioner contends that his attorney, Forsythe, for purposes of his trial and direct appeal, was burdened with two conflicts of interest which denied him the right to effective assistance of counsel. One alleged conflict relates to Forsythe's campaign for district judge for the Sixteenth Judicial District and his campaign for county attorney of Rosebud County. The other alleged conflict relates to a book Forsythe authored entitled Death Sentence: Murder On the Prairie. The District Court held that Petitioner failed to establish either an actual conflict or any connection between any alleged actual conflict and an adverse effect. ¶ 45 In Cuyler v. Sullivan (1980), 446 U.S. 335, 348, 100 S.Ct. 1708, 1718, 64 L.Ed.2d 333, the Supreme Court held that a defendant who did not raise an objection at trial to a conflict of interest arising from multiple representation must demonstrate that an actual conflict of interest adversely affected his lawyer's performance. [1] We have held that in order to succeed on a conflict of interest claim, a defendant must prove: (1) counsel actively represented conflicting interests; and (2) the conflict adversely affected counsel's performance. State v. Wereman (1995), 273 Mont. 245, 249, 902 P.2d 1009, 1011. If a defendant establishes both elements, we will presume that the defendant was prejudiced by the conflict. Wereman, 273 Mont. at 249, 902 P.2d at 1011.