Opinion ID: 1465457
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Per Se Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claim.

Text: Nickerson argues that he was so compromised by his attorney's admitted pre-trial violation of Montana Rules of Professional Conduct Rule 4.2 that her conduct rendered her assistance as counsel ineffective per se. Montana Rules of Professional Conduct (MRPC) Rule 4.2 reads: In representing a client, a lawyer shall not communicate about the subject of the representation with a person the lawyer knows to be represented by another lawyer in the matter, unless the lawyer has the consent of the other lawyer or is authorized to do so by law or a court order. It is clear that Kaufman violated MRPC Rule 4.2. There is no Ninth Circuit rule that the violation of a rule of ethics or professional conduct by counsel before trial constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel per se. Nickerson requests that we create such a rule. Such a broad rule has been explicitly rejected by other circuits. See Beets v. Scott, 65 F.3d 1258, 1271 (5th Cir.1995) (en banc); see also United States v. Rimell, 21 F.3d 281, 286 (8th Cir.1994); Bellamy v. Cogdell, 974 F.2d 302, 309 (2d Cir.1992); Brewer v. Aiken, 935 F.2d 850, 859-60 (7th Cir.1991); McDougall v. Dixon, 921 F.2d 518, 534 (4th Cir.1990). Though we have not yet explicitly rejected such a rule, we have held that in some circumstances violations of rules of professional conduct do not constitute ineffective assistance of counsel. See LaGrand v. Stewart, 133 F.3d 1253, 1276 (9th Cir. 1998), United States v. Bosch, 914 F.2d 1239, 1245 (9th Cir.1990). For example, in Bosch, the district court discovered during trial that the defendant's attorney had been disbarred from practice and had not been properly readmitted. 914 F.2d at 1244. The court ordered the attorney to confer with his client, and then asked whether the defendant wanted to continue being represented by his attorney, and whether he wanted to continue with the trial. Id. The defendant replied that he wanted to continue with the trial, represented by the same counsel. The appellate court determined that because the trial court found that the defendant was competent, had been apprised of his attorney's disbarment, and freely elected to proceed, his attorney's ethical violation had no effect on the defendant's meeting his burden under Strickland. Id. at 1245. Much the same occurred in this case. Nickerson was competent, aware of his attorney's ethical violation, and freely elected to proceed with trial. We are mindful of the Supreme Court's admonition that [p]er se rules should not be applied . . . in situations where the generalization is incorrect as an empirical matter; the justification for a conclusive presumption disappears when application of the presumption will not reach the correct result most of the time. Coleman v. Thompson, 501 U.S. 722, 737, 111 S.Ct. 2546, 115 L.Ed.2d 640 (1991). While we readily acknowledge that a violation of professional or ethical rules could lead to a deficient attorney performance that prejudices the defendant, as contemplated by Strickland, infra, Bosch is evidence that such is not always the case. 914 F.2d at 1245. With that uncertainty in mind, we hold that an attorney's violation of a rule of ethics or professional conduct before trial does not constitute per se ineffective assistance of counsel. Even though Nickerson's argument that his counsel's pre-trial ethical violation constituted ineffective assistance of counsel per se fails, his argument is perhaps better construed as a claim that Kaufman's ethical violation created an actual conflict with Nickerson's interests. Under United States v. Moore , Nickerson must show that an actual conflict of interest adversely affected his lawyer's performance. 159 F.3d at 1157; see also United States v. Wells, 394 F.3d 725, 733 (9th Cir.2005). Further, Nickerson must prove actual conflict, not just a possibility of conflict, `through a factual showing on the record.' Moore, 159 F.3d at 1157 (citing Morris v. California, 966 F.2d 448, 455 (9th Cir.1991)); see also United States v. Shwayder, 312 F.3d 1109, 1117-20 (9th Cir.2002) (holding that the defendant must show that counsel was influenced in his basic strategic decisions by the conflict of interest); United States v. Baker, 256 F.3d 855, 860 (9th Cir.2001) (noting that an attorney has an actual, as opposed to a potential, conflict of interest when, during the course of the representation, the attorney's and the defendant's interests diverge with respect to a material factual or legal issue or to a course of action) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). Nickerson claims that Kaufman's actual conflict of interesther ethical violation inhibited her performance because her performance was guarded at best, and incomprehensible at worst. However, Nickerson's claim fails because he does not point to any evidence in the record that demonstrates why Kaufman's violation created any actual interests divergent from his own, and which impaired her ability to effectively represent him. While Nickerson has certainly shown that his attorney's behavior was unethical and irresponsible, he has not proven that his violation created an actual conflict which impaired her ability to effectively represent him.