Opinion ID: 2625577
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: order to withdraw

Text: ¶46 Mr. Gonzales next argues that the trial court's grant of the State's motion to quash and accompanying ruling that Mr. Montgomery now had a conflict of interest denied him his right to the counsel of his choice. This issue is moot because the trial court did not remove Mr. Montgomery. Rather, the trial court responded to Mr. Montgomery's unauthorized acquisition of the contents of Jessica's therapy records by ordering him to write an apology to the victim, questioning whether the trial could be fair under the circumstances, and suggesting that he had created a conflict that call[ed] into question the professional ethics of his continued representation of the defendant. Following this strong reprimand, Mr. Montgomery voluntarily moved to withdraw. The trial court granted the motion, and referred the case to the Salt Lake Legal Defenders Association for appointment of new counsel. On appeal, Mr. Gonzales suggests that less drastic options might have been appropriate. However, because Mr. Gonzales did not offer these options at trial or even object to the trial court's grant of Mr. Montgomery's motion to withdraw, this issue is not properly before us, and we do not review it. [9]