Opinion ID: 173607
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Statutory Rights under the Criminal Justice Act

Text: As the majority explains, Rivera-Corona may also have a right to substitution of counsel under the Criminal Justice Act, which provides in relevant part: If at any stage of the proceedings, including an appeal, the United States magistrate judge or the court finds that the person is financially unable to pay counsel whom he had retained, it may appoint counsel ... and authorize payment ..., as the interests of justice may dictate. 18 U.S.C. § 3006A(c). This provision obliges the judge to continually reevaluate the need for appointed counsel as the underlying proceeding progresses. In re Boston Herald, Inc., 321 F.3d 174, 193 (1st Cir. 2003). Rivera-Corona did not explicitly raise § 3006A(c) in the district court or on appeal. Assuming that Rivera-Corona nonetheless adequately invoked the provision, I agree with the majority that the district court should have conducted an appropriate inquiry into Rivera-Corona's financial eligibility for mid-case appointment of counsel and an adequate analysis of whether counsel should have been appointed in the interests of justice. 18 U.S.C. § 3006A(b)-(c); see also United States v. Parker, 439 F.3d 81, 92-99 (2d Cir.2006) (discussing the appropriate inquiry requirement, as well as the interests of justice analysis). The interests of justice may dictate mid-case appointment of counsel when the defendant (or his family) is no longer able to pay retained counsel. As the majority points out, such an unpaid lawyer may, consciously or subconsciously, resent the transformation of an agreement to represent a defendant for pay into an involuntary pro bono arrangement, and therefore seek to end the representation as expeditiously as possible. Maj. Op. 982. On remand, therefore, the district court should also consider whether mid-case appointment of counsel is independently appropriate under the § 3006A(c), assuming Rivera-Corona seeks relief under that provision.