Opinion ID: 1423312
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Public Defender's Motions to Withdraw

Text: In the order of February 25, 2004, setting Thompson's execution date and remanding the case to the Coffee County Circuit Court, this Court appointed Michael J. Passino as lead counsel and the Office of the Public Defender for the Fourteenth Judicial District as co-counsel for Thompson. On March 1, 2004, B. Campbell Smoot, the District Public Defender for the Fourteenth Judicial District, filed both in this Court and in the trial court a Motion to Withdraw as Counsel. As grounds for withdrawal, the motion alleged that the Office's sole investigator, Jimmy Dale Conn, served as a lead investigator with the Coffee County Sheriff's Department during the investigation of Brenda Lane's murder and testified for the prosecution at Thompson's 1985 trial. On March 8, 2004, the trial court denied Thompson's petition for failure to satisfy the threshold showing, but the trial court did not rule on the Public Defender's motion to withdraw. On March 9, 2004, this Court denied the Public Defender's motion to withdraw, stating: In our view, the motion is not well-taken. Mr. Conn's past involvement in Thompson's prosecution and trial does not disqualify the entire Office of the Public Defender for the Fourteenth Judicial District from proceedings to determine Thompson's discrete claim that he currently is not competent to be executed. In this appeal Thompson argues that the trial court abused its discretion by failing to decide the motion to withdraw before ruling on Thompson's petition. In addition, Thompson asserts that the Public Defender should have been allowed to withdraw because an appearance of impropriety exists based upon the investigator's past employment with the prosecution during Thompson's original murder trial. The State does not respond to the merits of Thompson's argument that withdrawal is appropriate. However, the State points out that this issue has been resolved by this Court, notes with some concern that the Office of the Attorney General has never been served with a copy of the motion, despite being listed on the certificate of service for the motion filed in the trial court, and states that the Attorney General's Office was unaware of the basis of the motion until entry of this Court's order of March 9, 2004. In our view, the trial court did not err in ruling upon the petition before deciding the motion to withdraw. Thompson provides no legal authority supporting his assertion that the trial court's decision constituted an abuse of discretion. Given that this Court appointed the Public Defender's Office, the trial court reasonably may have concluded that this Court should consider and dispose of the motion to withdraw. Furthermore, as the State points out, in light of this Court's order denying the motion to withdraw, Thompson's claim is moot insofar as he suggests that the motion established an appearance of impropriety and that the trial court erred by not granting the motion. However, our inquiry is not ended. On March 17, 2004, the Public Defender moved this Court to reconsider its order of March 9, 2004, denying his motion to withdraw. This motion asserts that, because one of the three lawyers employed by the Public Defender's Office represented Thompson's co-defendant, Joanne MacNamara, a conflict of interest exists requiring withdrawal of the entire Public Defender's Office. Accordingly, the motion requests that this Court reconsider its March 9 order and allow the Public Defender's Office to withdraw. We are of the opinion that this motion is not well-taken. The Public Defender's Office has been appointed as co-counsel in a proceeding to determine the discrete issue of Thompson's present competency to be executed. Thompson has completed the standard three-tier appeals process. Issues relating to the validity and correctness of Thompson's conviction and sentence have been litigated in proceedings that are now final. The Public Defender's motion alleges neither a conflict of interest nor an appearance of impropriety requiring withdrawal. See State v. White, 114 S.W.3d 469, 476 (Tenn.2003) (discussing conflict of interest and appearance of impropriety). Accordingly, the Public Defender's motion to reconsider is without merit and is denied.