Opinion ID: 2631199
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Representation During the In Camera Proceeding

Text: Petitioner's claims with respect to the third and fourth issues concern the in camera proceeding on July 13, 1994, near the end of the voir dire proceedings, to hear Stenson's motion to substitute counsel. Stenson, 132 Wash.2d at 731, 940 P.2d 1239. Petitioner argues that Leatherman's antagonistic position toward his request for substitute counsel violated his Sixth Amendment right to assistance of counsel. PRP at 15, 17. During the proceeding, Stenson was effectively without counsel, and because he lacked counsel at a critical stage of the proceeding, reversal of the conviction is required. PRP at 19. The State responds that Stenson was never without counsel because Stenson had two attorneys: Leatherman and Dave Neupert. State's Resp. at 8-9. Even if Leatherman's actions could have in effect terminated his representation of Stenson, the Petitioner always had Neupert. Moreover, Neupert and Leatherman assisted Stenson in preparing his motion for substitution of counsel. Dep. of Neupert at 29; Dep. of Leatherman at 27. Finally, the State attempts to distinguish the major case relied on by Petitioner: United States v. Wadsworth, 830 F.2d 1500. State's Resp. at 37-40. Wadsworth represents an important precedent because in that decision the Ninth Circuit reversed the trial court in circumstances similar to those in Stenson's case in which a hearing was held on a defendant's motion for substitution of counsel. Wadsworth, 830 F.2d at 1505. The court reversed for two different but related grounds. First, it accepted Wadsworth's argument that the district court abused its discretion in denying Wadsworth's request for the appointment of counsel following the court's order dismissing Wadsworth's counsel, Mr. Woolf, as the attorney of record. Id. at 1509. Second, the court also held that: the proceeding conducted by the court on the defendant's motions resulted in the denial to the defendant of his right to due process and the right to counsel at that hearing. An accused is entitled to counsel at every critical stage of the proceedings against him. There can be no question that these proceedings were critical. At issue was the right of the defendant to have counsel at trial and time to prepare his defense. Id. at 1510 (citations omitted). The State argues that the holding of Wadsworth should be confined to what the Ninth Circuit itself described as the unusual circumstances of this case. Id. at 1511. The trial court granted Wadsworth's motion to dismiss counsel, but refused his request that the court appoint him counsel. Id. at 1508. Wadsworth was also denied a continuance and was thus forced to represent himself at the trial, which began the day after the substitution of counsel hearing. Id. at 1506, 1508. Moreover, the Ninth Circuit found that Wadsworth's motion was justified because Woolf was unprepared for trial. Id. at 1510. Wadsworth was a tax protester who wanted to put on a defense challenging the constitutionality of the Internal Revenue Service. Id. at 1507, 1511. Woolf refused to put on such a defense and did not prepare an alternative; as he explained, Well granted. I quit. You know, I just did nothing further. When I'm told I'm not wanted and I'm not going to represent him, I quit working on it. Id. at 1508. Woolf even set another client's case for trial on the same day as Wadsworth's. Id. at 1510. Under those unusual circumstances the Ninth Circuit held that the district court should have suspended the proceedings and appointed an attorney for Wadsworth at the competency of counsel hearing as soon as it became apparent that Woolf had taken an adversary and antagonistic position on a matter concerning his client's right to counsel and to prepare for trial. Id. at 1511. The court stated that what Woolf could have done in order to carry out his professional responsibility to his client in a competent manner was to continue preparation of his defense on a defensible theory. Id. at 1510. If Wadsworth had then requested a substitution of counsel on the day of trial because of a disagreement on the theory of defense, the court could deny the motion and the trial proceed as scheduled. Id. This scenario represents what happened in Stenson's case. As both the trial court and this court found, there is no evidence to suggest that Leatherman failed to vigorously represent Petitioner. Stenson, 132 Wash.2d at 735-36, 940 P.2d 1239. Stenson and Leatherman disagreed on the theory of the defense, the Petitioner wanting to suggest that Denise Hoerner committed the murders and Leatherman refused to employ that strategy. Id. at 734-35, 940 P.2d 1239. Under those circumstances, the trial court denied Stenson's motion for substitution of counsel. The Ninth Circuit outlined a scenario in Wadsworth in which reversal would not be required due to the absence of counsel during the substitution of counsel hearing; the facts of this case appear to fit that scenario. Subsequent Ninth Circuit cases involving substitution of counsel proceedings indicate that the failure of a court to appoint a separate counsel for the defendant at such proceedings is not per se a violation of his or her Sixth Amendment right to counsel. See United States v. Castro, 972 F.2d 1107 (9th Cir.1992); United States v. Moore, 159 F.3d 1154 (9th Cir.1998). In these cases the lack of separate counsel does not trouble the court. Petitioner's claims with respect to the issues regarding counsel's antagonistic position toward the Petitioner's request for substitution of counsel and Petitioner's being denied counsel at a crucial stage of the proceedings are rejected because Wadsworth may be distinguished from this case. Petitioner was continuously represented by one cocounsel not in an adversarial position to him, and both counsel aided Petitioner in preparing his motion for substitution. The Ninth Circuit in Wadsworth supports the view that denial of substitution of counsel under the circumstances of Stenson's case is not a denial of a constitutional right to counsel.