Opinion ID: 3050723
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Potential for Delay

Text: Both the trial court and the Court of Appeal held that the potential delay that Jordan’s substitution might engender was sufficient to warrant abridging Bradley’s Sixth Amendment rights. Although there are undeniably circumstances under which the demands of a court’s calendar and the need to bring a case to trial may constitute compelling justifications for denying a criminal defendant her right to retain the counsel of her choice, such that recognition of this additional limitation on the Sixth Amendment does not constitute an unreasonable extension of applicable Supreme Court precedent, those circumstances were not present here. In this case there was, at most, a potential risk that granting Bradley’s motion might lead to future circumstances under which her new attorney might request a continuance. There was no evidence whatsoever that his representation would inevitably cause any actual delay of Bradley’s trial, or even that there was any substantial risk of delay. The trial court cited Bradley’s prior substitutions as causing “interminable delays.” As Judge Noonan’s opinion demon- strates, however, only a limited portion of the delay was attributable to Bradley. More importantly, the proposed new attorney, Jordan, was aware of the scheduled trial date and sought no additional time to prepare. To the contrary, Jordan submitted a sworn declaration in which he attested that he would be ready to begin on the trial date then scheduled. Jordan was also clear during the hearing that he was not requesting a continuance. To justify its decision the California Court of Appeal seized on potentially equivocal language in Jordan’s statements. It noted that he attested only that he saw “no reason not to be ready at the time of trial” and that he did not “see that changing at this point.” That Jordan failed to use the firmest and most direct possible terms to express himself does not support 16522 BRADLEY v. HENRY the Court of Appeal’s speculation that he would later seek a continuance. Lawyers are trained to be cautious. It is not a surprise that Jordan might not want to waive all contingencies unless pressed to do so. For all he knew, he might have a heart attack or be run over by a bus before the trial date. But no fair reading of Jordan’s declaration or his statements at the hearing could support a conclusion that he was laying the groundwork for a future request to continue the trial, or that he had any reason to expect that the trial court would be receptive to such a request. Even assuming that Jordan might have later moved for such a continuance, the trial court had the power to deny the motion. A denial of such a motion would likely have been sustained under these circumstances, especially if Jordan had been put on notice of the court’s intent to avoid further delay. As the Supreme Court held in Morris v. Slappy, 461 U.S. 1, 11 (1983), trial courts “necessarily require a great deal of latitude in scheduling trials” and are therefore accorded broad discretion on matters of continuances. In sharp contrast to the limited exceptions to the right to counsel of one’s choice, “only an unreasoning and arbitrary ‘insistence upon expeditiousness in the face of a justifiable request for delay’ violates the right to the assistance of counsel.” Id. at 11-12 (quoting Ungar v. Sarafite, 376 U.S. 575, 589 (1964)). If Jordan had responded to the court in an equivocal fashion after that, perhaps the denial of Bradley’s constitutional right to retain the counsel of her choice would have rested on a stronger foundation. But it was unreasonable for the court simply to deny the substitution motion — and thus to deny Bradley’s exercise of her right to retained counsel of choice — out of fear that something might happen to delay the trial. The California Court of Appeal reasoned that Jordan’s assurances that he would be prepared were unpersuasive because he had yet to review the twelve boxes of materials Bradley’s appointed counsel had accumulated. Jordan had already spent hours meeting with Bradley’s appointed counBRADLEY v. HENRY 16523 sel, however, and he had discussed the case with Bradley’s family and the investigator. Bradley also filed her motion for substitution forty-six days, or six and a half weeks, before her trial date. Jordan told the trial court that this was a sufficient amount of time to properly prepare, and the trial court did not question or dispute this representation. Not surprisingly, the Warden has not pointed to a single case in any court where a motion to substitute counsel was denied so far in advance of trial because of the potential for delay. Trial courts have a number of tools at their disposal to ensure a fair trial and the integrity of the process without offending the Sixth Amendment. As we previously held in United States v. Lillie, a court may “inquire into the new counsel’s preparedness, and to condition the granting of the motion on defendant’s (and new counsel’s) willingness to continue with the existing schedule.” United States v. Lillie, 989 F.2d 1054, 1056 (9th Cir. 1993) (applying Wheat, 486 U.S. at 159, and holding that a district court committed reversible error when it denied a motion for substitution filed the morning of trial), overruled in part on other grounds in United States v. Garrett, 179 F.3d 1143, 1145 (9th Cir. 1999). It may also “be justified in obtaining the defendant’s waiver of any ineffective assistance of counsel claim growing from the late substitution.” Id. (citing United States v. McClendon, 782 F.2d 785, 786 (9th Cir.1986)). In this case, rather than exercise these options, the trial court simply denied Bradley’s motion for substitution. It did so despite Jordan’s undisputed representation, well in advance of trial, that he was prepared to proceed without delay. As the trial court and California Court of Appeal lacked any valid justification for depriving Bradley of her Sixth Amendment right to the counsel of her choice, their adjudication of her motion was contrary to clearly established Supreme Court precedent.